Tension
by mind-the-apostrophe
Summary: Four years after a heartbreaking Olympic loss, a TV crew catches up with the Rock Rebels for a primetime special. Thrown together after years of estrangement, the girls must confront bittersweet memories and buried regrets...on camera. Payson/Sasha
1. Where Are They Now?

**Chapter 1: "Where Are They Now?" - Early Summer, 2016**

Ben Pierce was sitting in his boss' office at Sports Network Plus, legs up on the desk and a wide smirk on his face. Today was his day. Actually, most days were "his days."

"Jesus, Ben. Wipe that smile off your face. You're hosting a TV special, you didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize."

His boss, executive Richard Edwards shot his cocky employee a distasteful look. He should've known that Ben would act this way. The man was intolerable. If given an inch, he would steal a mile and not look back. After five years, he was used to Ben's behavior, but it still annoyed the hell out of him.

Ben looked very pleased with himself despite the reprimand.

"I'm telling you, Richard, this primetime special is going to generate a ton of viewership – women especially. It's opening up a whole new audience to SNP. The advertisers are going nuts."

Richard raised his eyebrow. "_I didn't know so many people liked gymnastics…"_

"Well, the Olympics are coming up again. Everyone is thinking about sports. Besides, it's not just the gymnastics with these girls - i_t's the stories_." Ben sat forward excitedly, running his hands through his thick brown hair. "Everyone thought the Rock Rebels were going to bring home the gold in London. Their loss was the iconic moment of the Olympics for the American viewers. I mean, do you remember how much attention they received before the games? They were the definition of hype! They had everything - talent, story, and looks to boot. This segmentl has already sparked a ton of buzz. "

Richard had to admit it – so far Ben had delivered on all of his promises. When the young host first pitched the "Where Are They Now?" idea, he'd had serious doubts.

"How did you get the girls to agree to this?" Richard asked, leafing through some paperwork.

Ben shrugged dismissively. "Whatever their reasons, they're on board with signed contracts. There's no turning back now. The crew and I have already traveled and collected footage from their homes. That took time, but it was worth it." Ben tossed Richard a DVD. "Here, you can see for yourself. We're going to combine those clips with the reunion footage and group interviews we're shooting this week in New York."

"Is everything ready for their arrival?" Richard asked.

"Oh yes." said Ben. "The girls will be in the city tomorrow. I'm meeting them at their hotel and debriefing them over dinner. The next day they should be in the studio and we'll start interviewing them in groups and pairs. I anticipate some interesting results…"

Richard looked down at the DVD in his hand. Doubts aside, he let curiosity get the better of him. He took the disc out of its case, popped it in his office television, and pressed play.

* * *

Footage flickered rapidly across the screen: Kaylie Cruz twisting off the beam and saluting with a grin, Lauren Tanner with her hand over her chest during the national anthem, Emily Kmetko winning her bronze medal on uneven bars, and Payson Keeler completing a tumbling pass across the floor at the London games.

_Hello, I'm Ben Pierce taking you inside the world of Gymnastics and beyond. The question we're exploring tonight is what happens to our favorite Olympians when the cameras turn off and training ends? For the next hour, Sports Network Plus will be reacquainting you with four household names from the 2012 Olympics: Payson Keeler, Kaylie Cruz, Lauren Tanner, and Emily Kmetko. The famous Rock Rebels from Colorado generated an enormous amount of attention during the London games as leaders on the U.S. Gymnastics Team, not only for their personality and skill, but also for their inspiring stories._

"The Olympics felt like a dream." an interviewed Emily Kmetko said to the camera. "Things like that don't usually happen to girls like me."

The shot then faded to a devastating visual of Payson Keeler breaking her back at 2009 Nationals. In slow motion, the young girl crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. The athlete's serious voice was heard in the background of the shot: "I thought it was over for me…I thought that was the end of my dream."

_These girls made their way into our living rooms. But despite the high expectations, they tragically fell short, leading the U.S. Team to a disappointing second place finish in the team competition. It was one of the smallest margins in Olympic history._

The camera revealed a close-up of eighteen-year-old Kaylie Cruz with a tear streaming silently down her pretty face. Around her, teammates were looking up at the final placing with stunned expressions. The color from Lauren Tanner's face was fading.

_Now, it's been almost four years since their time in the spotlight. The world is dying to know: Where are they now?_

_We start our journey with Kaylie Cruz, the 2009 National Champion and a crowd favorite. Kaylie knew just how to please an audience and make her gymnastics entertaining. The world saw her go through several ups and downs during her career, but throughout the years she maintained her reputation as a strong competitor. She was an all around contender at the Olympics, but she just missed the podium in every event. Her iconic, tearful reaction to the team loss would make the cover of Time magazine just days after the games. Still, it seems that in Kaylie's case, time can heal any wound…_

Present day Kaylie Cruz and Austin Tucker appeared on screen, arm in arm in a Texas gym. Poised and petite, Kaylie was radiating contentment. The camera followed her as she walked through her gym and instructed young girls on the beam and uneven bars. Then, the lens closed in and captured a humorous, light-hearted moment between her and a young gymnast.

"I fell in love with coaching….and with Austin." Kaylie told Ben Pierce as he interviewed her in her new workplace. The camera focused in on her glistening engagement ring as she spoke. "I couldn't ask for more. I didn't get the gold medal, but I got the guy."

"And how is coaching?"

Kaylie chuckled. "It's funny – I used to joke about dropping gymnastics all together after London, but I think life had a different plan for me. Soon Austin and I will be married and working together everyday. I can't wait to build up this gym with him and make it great. It already feels like home."

"So you would consider yourself happy?" Ben asked her, leaning forward and smiling.

Kaylie's eyes glistened and her mouth upturned sweetly. "Very."

Her image faded and was replaced by candid footage of Emily Kmetko walking down a college quad and laughing with friends. She was hugging a collection of sociology books to her chest.

_America remembers Emily Kmetko as the Cinderella story of the Olympics games. Unlike some of her peers, she didn't come from a privileged background. While Kaylie and Lauren tumbled in private gyms as toddlers, Emily learned the tricks of the trade on local playgrounds. Coach Marty Walsh discovered her at a YMCA and brought her to the Rock just before the 2009 National Championship. She eventually went to the Olympics as an alternate, but after Kelly Parker's injury she competed in uneven bars and vault. To everyone's surprise she ended up medaling in the former._

Footage of Emily's flawless dismount from uneven bars appeared on the screen. She stood tall and proud during her salute. Unlike other gymnasts who kept stoic faces, Emily's was full of happy tears. A second later her teammates were on her, covering her in hugs. The joyous picture faded into a present-day interview with Emily Kmetko inside her dorm room. Her shoulder length dark hair was pinned neatly back, away from a somewhat insecure face.

"Emily," Ben Pierce said. "What do you have to say to all those girls out there with big dreams?"

"Um…just keep going, I guess." Emily said. "Never give up and never let someone tell you it's impossible. It's not. If I can do, you certainly can."

"So what was the first thing you did to celebrate after winning your medal?" he asked her.

Emily Kmetko hesitated, twisting her hands around nervously on her lap. She finally answered, "I-I went to Paris, actually."

"How exciting! Did you go with your teammates or family?" Ben Pierce asked.

"I went with…a_n old friend_."

"I'm sure that was quite the experience!"

She smiled. "Defintely."

"And how are you liking college?"

"I love it. I'm just enjoying being a normal student here at Michigan." said, the previous tension from earlier melting as she answered the easier question. "I'm finishing up my senior year and just trying to milk out all the great experiences this place has to offer. It's hard work…different than gymnastics, but hard work."

"So, are you happy?" Ben asked.

Emily's face softened as she looked up to meet Ben's eye. "I think so." she said softly as her image faded from the screen.

Lauren Tanner appeared next. Pictures from her past flashed together quickly – her posing on the beam, her hugging Kaylie after a floor routine, her waving to the cameras in London.

_In 2012, Lauren Tanner was one of the most gifted beamers in the World. Though experts had discounted her on the international stage, she proved them wrong by offering a performance worthy of the silver medal. Both she and Payson Keeler beat Genji Cho in the event – perhaps the greatest moment of victory for U.S. Gymnastics. Now, four years later, Lauren Tanner has traded in her leotard for designer clothing._

Twenty two-year-old Lauren Tanner appeared on screen draped in a slinky midnight blue dress. She was posing for photographers with artificial wind blowing through her long, golden hair. A sultry, mysterious look was plastered across her face and camera flashes were going off all around her.

"Yeah, all the post-Olympic sponsorships just morphed into a modeling career." The heavily make-uped Lauren said to the camera from her interview chair. "I moved to LA permanently and have been working steadily ever since. It was unexpected, but I absolutely love it."

"Do you miss gymnastics?" Ben asked her.

"You mean the constant training, constant dieting and demanding schedule…?" she asked with an upturned eyebrow.

Ben laughed. "When you put it that way, it sounds a lot like modeling"

Lauren snickered at his assumption. "Oh my….clearly, you've never been an elite gymnast."

"I'm not going to argue with that!" Ben played along with her sassy answer. "So are you happy, Lauren Tanner?"

Lauren flipped her hair over her shoulder with the kind of attitude only a professional could muster. "Ben, I'm a model. What do you think?"

A few seconds later, Lauren's playful demeanor dissolved and was replaced with footage of Payson Keeler from 2012. It began with a close up of her serious, focused expression. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her body was positioned in the middle of the floor. The lens paned out as she went through the fluid motions of her routine, seamlessly transitioning between beautiful dance elements and perfect tumbling. The grace and poise inserted into every action made her look like she was flying. The video slowed suddenly, highlighting a particularly gorgeous leap.

_And of course who could forget the all-around gold medalist of 2012, Payson Keeler? Her win was bittersweet considering her team's overall loss, but the night she won she also stole America's heart. After coming back from a supposedly career-ending back injury, she rose to the top and beat all odds. Her gold medal was literally a miracle._

Now an older version of Payson sat before the camera, long hair combed back in her signature bun. Unlike the liberated, graceful girl form the earlier footage she looked unsure of herself and uncomfortable in her surroundings. Her eyes darted nervously between the camera and Ben Pierce seated next to her.

"So Payson, what's life like after a gold medal?"

As if answering the question, the screen filled with a montage of Payson's life: her walking through her apartment in Boulder, her reading outside under a tree, and her eating dinner with her family. Compared to the images from Lauren and Kaylie's life, everything seemed painfully normal – surprisingly so. Payson's voice was in the background narrating the visuals: "I'm staying close to my family, writing, and just trying to find some new direction in life. It's been nice to slow down and appreciate the little things that I used to take for granted when I was so busy. I've had a lot of time for reflection."

The shot transitioned back to Ben and Payson sitting side by side.

"Payson," he started. "Some experts consider your Olympic floor routine – and this is a direct quote – "the most beautiful routine ever performed in the history of the games." What crosses you mind when you hear things like that?"

"Well…I'm obviously flattered. I mean, technically speaking it wasn't the most difficult the sport has seen, but –"

"But it was breathtaking." Ben interrupted her. "And might I add, very different from your style before your injury in 2009. What sparked this change?"

"Well..." Payson started with difficulty. The camera closed in on her face as if confronting her timidity. "I started developing the artistic side of my gymnastics after my injury. I needed to reinvent myself. Actually, it was a really hard time in my life."

Ben nodded. "That sounds like it was difficult to go through alone."

Payson Keeler took a deep breath.

"I-I wasn't alone."

"So, Payson," Ben said, getting ready to ask the same question he posed curiously to each of the former Rock Rebels. "Are you happy?"

The blonde young woman on the television blinked slowly and looked up at the camera with her large, deep blue eyes.

* * *

Ben Pierce took the remote and shut off the television mid-interview with a satisfied smile. He was impatient for feedback from Richard on the preliminary footage.

Richard sighed. "It looks good so far." He almost hated to compliment him.

"Oh and there's more where that came from…"

"You better deliver on those ratings you promised, Ben." Richard warned sternly.

The young television host sighed and leaned back in his chair, once again putting his feet up. Judging by the casual expression on his face, he didn't have a single worry over his anticipated final product. Richard didn't know whether this was a good sign or not.

"Don't worry, Richard." he assured his boss. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve. _Trust me_."

* * *

**a/n** - I have a horrible habit of starting new fics before I've finished others. Seriously, it's a problem

JenniferCarolyn, you are an enabler! =) Oh well, so be it. I cannot be changed.


	2. Grudges and Guilt

**Chapter 2: Grudges and Guilt**

Payson Keeler swung her duffle bag over her shoulder, taking care not to catch her long blonde hair under the strap. Even at the mature age of twenty-two, she couldn't manage to part with the long hair of her teenage years. She just didn't have the heart. So much had changed in the past four years that at least one thing in her life needed to stay constant. If that had to be her hair, then so be it.

She stood in a fancy hotel lobby and drank in her intimidating surroundings. Everything from the gold detailing on the banisters to the light classical music in the background made her want to run for cover and not look back. Unfortunately, she was under contract to be here in New York and there was no way around it.

A few months ago Sports Plus Network, the most viewed sports channel on cable television, approached her about doing a television special that would be aired in the weeks leading up to the 2016 games. The primetime segment would feature the legendary Rock Rebels who, despite loosing to China for the team title by one of the smallest margins in Olympic history, had still dazzled the public with their charm and talent. Apparently the country was dying to know what they were doing now, the Sport Network Plus was determined to deliver. Payson was starting to wonder whether signing up for this had been a mistake.

"Can I help you miss?" The hotel desk attendant asked her politely.

"Uh, yes. I'm checking in. The last name is Keeler."

The man surveyed the computer screen before finally smiling at the new guest. "Ah yes, Ms. Keeler. I see that SNP has reserved a suite for you. You're one of our VIP guests this week."

She smiled meekly, hoping that she wasn't blushing too much under his gaze. Clearly, this man was eyeing her up and down trying to determine why she was so "important." Usually men were the last to recognize her as the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. Generally, they didn't follow the sport as closely as the female population.

He slid a key across the counter at her and she took it with a polite smile.

"Have any of SNP's other guests arrived?" she asked curiously. "Kaylie Cruz? Lauren Tanner? Emily Kmetko?"

"Yes, they all arrived earlier today. In fact, they're in the dining room with Mr. Pierce. Are you ready to join them?"

"Uh…." Payson paused and looked down at her thin, loose tee shirt and jeans. "If I ask you a question, can you give me an honest answer?"

"Of course, ma'am."

"Do I look alright?"

The attendant smiled politely. "A bit underdressed, but I think you're just fine."

Payson sighed. In all honestly, this was probably as good as it was going to get anyway.

"Well, thank you." she laughed nervously and pushed her hair back with her fingers

The truth was, Payson Keeler had every reason to be anxious. For the first time since their famously disappointing team loss at the London games, she and her teammates would be in the same room together. Not only did she have to confront the buried bitterness of Olympic disappointment, but she also had to confront what used to be the three most important people in her life. Now, after years of chosen separation, they were practically strangers.

She followed the fancy signs from the lobby to the hotel dining room and soon she was inside a high-ceilinged gorgeous room filled with flowery place settings and china.

"_Oh my…"_

"Payson!"

She looked up and saw a familiar man standing up at a table and waving for her attention. It was Ben Pierce – someone she'd gotten to know pretty well after he visited her in Boulder for some family interviews and filler shots. He reminded her of someone from Mad Men – young, neatly dressed, cocky, and (by the looks of it now) somewhat over boozed.

"Come sit here, Payson." He said, politely pulling out her chair.

Payson sat down and looked around the table.

To her immediate right was Kaylie Cruz who gave Payson a lukewarm smile before turning her attention back to her vibrating Blackberry. _Well, that was touching _thought Payson. She didn't blame Kaylie. From what she could tell about her life, the most exciting things in it now were not at this table. Payson would've been distracted too if she had a fiancé and a gym to run.

Next to her was Lauren Tanner. The girl was decked from head to toe in designer clothing. Everything from her eye makeup to her fingernails was neat and pretty. Payson noted the details with a bit of envy. She never put that much effort into her appearance. Lauren didn't look up at Payson when she joined them. Instead, she continued to strum her fingers on the table and glance at her diamond watch every minute or so.

The last girl at the table was on Payson's left. She didn't smile or hug her old teammate upon her arrival. All she did was caught her eye and sigh heavily with a knowing look. That was enough. Payson knew just what that mean in nonverbal Emily Kmetko language. _It was going to be a long night._

The lack of warm-and-fuzziness wasn't lost on Payson. In fact, she had been expecting it. It was an odd, forced social situation that they found themselves in. Anyone of them could've easily kept in touch with the others in the group, but each had either been too lazy or too bitter to mend any bridges burned during the Olympics. Instead, ex gymnasts threw themselves into divergent life paths. It was rather ironic, actually, that those paths were converging once again at this particular table with Ben Pierce. Despite their best efforts to stay away from each other here they were…

"Welcome to New York, Ladies." Ben said, rubbing his hands together. "Are you ready for an exciting week?"

The girls murmured half-hearted responses.

"Ok…" he continued, trying to ignore their indifference and insert his own enthusiasm. "Everything should be taken care of at the hotel. I'm sure you'll all be very comfortable during the coming days of interviews and shooting."

Lauren snorted, probably doubtful of that. Payson suspected that this model might now be more accustomed to a finer lifestyle than this four star hotel had to offer…if that was even possible.

Ben continued. "Anyway…I've placed a schedule in each of your rooms for reference as well as my contact information. Feel free to call me at any time if you have questions about the documentary."

Emily Kmetko raised her hand. Before her arm was up all the way she suddenly remembered that she was no longer in a college lecture hall. she cleared her throat awkwardly and lowered her arm.

"Emily?"

"Yeah…" she started. "Do we have final say over what segments can and can't be used in the special."

"Well, that's a good question…technically, you've signed over the content produced this week to SNP. According to your contracts your input will be valued and certainly listened to, but…."

"_But it's your way or the highway_." Kaylie Cruz finished, with an upturned eyebrow.

Ben laughed nervously. "If you want to put it that way…"

As if to appease this last confession, Ben waved over the nearest waitress and ordered a chilled bottle of champagne and some appetizers for the table.

"Let's celebrate your lives and accomplishments!" he said, raising his glass after the beverages were poured. "After all, this week is about all of you."

The girls reluctantly sipped their champagne . The environment at the table was tense at best. Each girl seemed to glance around from time to time as if expecting someone else to crack or go crazy at any moment. There were too many buried emotional land mines at that table. Even Ben, the least clued in of the five, was starting to notice it.

"I think I'll leave you all to a lovely dinner alone now – on SNP, of course." Ben clarified with charm. He flagged down a waiter and handed him a credit card. "Make sure theses lovely women get whatever they want…"

"_Fine. I'm ordering lobster_…" Emily mumbled under her breath. Payson cracked a smile. She couldn't help it.

"…so just charge the five meals, drinks, and tip to this card. No limit. Thank you, sir." Ben finished.

Kaylie furrowed her brow in confusion. "Wait – I thought you said you were leaving us alone. There's only four of us."

"I am leaving." Ben said. "But Mr. Belov should be here any minute. I believe he's running late –"

"_What?"_ Lauren Tanner asked dangerously. "What did you just say?"

"Sasha Belov's here this week for the interviews." Ben asked nonchalantly. "Did I not mention that?"

"No!" Emily, Lauren, and Kaylie all exclaimed in union.

"You could've mentioned that part….oh, I don't know…a few MONTHS ago." Kaylie said, throwing her napkin on the table.

"Are you serious?" Emily asked incredulously. "Ben, you had to have known what a big deal that would be for us. You did all the research on us. I mean…you're slimy, but you're not stupid. We haven't seen him in _years_."

Ben Pierce shrugged his shoulders and continued to feign ignorance."I'm sorry, is there a problem with this?" he asked. "You have already agreed to the terms of your contracts including cooperating with fellow SNP guests and interviewees. I didn't think that inviting your old coach – a very key player in all of you Olympic pasts, I might add – would be an issue."

"Then why not invite Marty?" Kaylie interjected, clearly not buying this story. "He's the one that took us to the Olympics! Sasha left us before Worlds and we didn't hear from him since! Do you know how many times we tried to call him and track him down after that? How the hell did you find him?"

There was no question about it – Ben Pierce was a cornered man. His contrived "plot twist" was starting to backfire. He assumed that inviting Sasha Belov to filming would stir the pot, but he had no idea that the pot would boil over before his eyes.

"Everyone, just calm down." he said.

Actually, the only person calm at the table was Payson Keeler. Since the words "Sasha Belov" came out of Ben's mouth, the color had drained from her face and she simply sat there with her eyes forward letting the reality wash over her. Unlike her former teammates, Payson's emotional reactions were rarely verbal. As others argued around her she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that, possibly in a few minutes, Sasha Belov would be there…in person.

"Calm down?" Kaylie asked, looking both sad and angry. "It's hard enough facing our old temamates. Now you want us to smile and pretend that everything is fine with Sasha Belov…the man who abandoned us before Worlds?"

"Wait – am I missing something?" Ben asked, motioning to the girls at the table. "Do you all not get along anymore?"

Emily rolled her eyes dramatically. "Ben, you're not blind. How could you be at the dinner table and _not_ notice the tension?"

"Well…" he started, trying his best to seem innocent. "How was I supposed to know that?"

"Let me clue you in here, Ben." Lauren Tanner said suddenly. "And I'm only saying this because there are no cameras here and you need a nice large dose of reality. Us Rock Rebels will smile and answer your questions like good girls, but don't expect any Oprah moments from us. There are way too many grudges for that…"

Lauren stood now, towering over her former teammates. As if demonstrating her point, she gestured first to Kaylie Cruz. "For example, during the Olympics our team captain here was too busy trying to make a _comeback_ to support her teammates, which makes the fact that she didn't medal that much more interesting if you ask me..."

Kaylie's faced turned beat red and she crumpled her cloth napkin in her hand. "You have some nerve to –"

"That girl…" Lauren nodded to Emily and continued to speak loudly over Kaylie's protests. "shouldn't have even competed in Olympics! Sure, she got a bronze in bars, but if she hadn't blown the big one on vault, the U.S. would've won the team title easily. Now, that's a part of her "Cinderella Story" that the reporters leave out."

Emily crossed her arms and shook her head with distaste.

"And then of course, there's Payson Keeler – the only one of us who got a gold medal in London." Lauren turned to her bitterly. "If it wasn't for Payson, Sasha probably wouldn't have left in the first place. But now, Payson just…._couldn't resist_, could she?"

Payson's mouth dropped open. It felt like Lauren had just slapped her across the face. Ben observed her reaction with curiosity, wondering exactly what Lauren Tanner was referring to.

'And now you –" Lauren shook her head at Ben Pierce theatrically. "You set the whole delightful thing up! Congratulations on the train wreck, Ben. I hope you're excited for this week. I know I am!"

Lauren finished her dramatic monologue with a flourish. She turned quickly away from the table, grabbed her handbag, then headed straight to the elevator in her loud high heels. It didn't take long for a distraught Kaylie and an offended Emily to follow her.

"Are you OK?" Emily had asked Payson before leaving.

Payson nodded with a stern face.

Now alone with Ben, Payson continued to sit there silently. She was surrounded by five glasses of champagne and a part of her was tempted to down them all one by one.

Then, like a perfectly timed ironic note, Sasha Belov appeared.

Payson looked up at the same time he walked through the door, almost sensing the change in the room when he entered it. It reminded her of the first time she saw him when he entered the rock – hands in his jacket pockets, serious expression, and confident gait. It was almost as if he was stepping out from her own memory, from a place where she had buried him and all the emotions she associated with him along ago. Now, all of it was inconveniently flooding back.

He looked exactly the same. It was almost frightening. Even from across the room Payson noted the deep blue of his eyes and the usual blonde stubble on his chin. There he was - the man that had changed her life in so many ways. She grabbed one of the champagne glasses and swallowed its contents in one gulp. Emily had been right. _It was going to be a long night._

"Belov!" Ben waved the man over to their table just like he'd done with Payson Keeler. He shook his hand when he arrived. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Thank you." Sasha's accent sent shivers down Payson's spine.

In one moment, both Sasha and Payson's gazes linked like puzzle pieces. His smile faded into a familiar expression; it was the look he'd grown used to giving the one and only Payson Keeler – part admiration, part understanding. She knew it well, but hadn't seen in quite sometime.

"Hi." She said, managing to keep a steady voice.

"Hi."

Ben cleared his throat to remind them that he was also there. He had to do it twice.

"Well," Ben joked when neither of the transfixed adults responded. "At least there is no drama between you two…"

Payson wanted to laugh. That was just about as far from the truth as one could get.

Unlike her peers who mainly harbored anger and resentment towards Sasha Belov, for years now Payson's feelings were fit somewhere between extreme guilt and sadness. After all, she had set the pieces in motion that led to his early exit from their lives. The years passed without any contact between them unless you count an old letter that he'd slipped in her gym bag long ago. Since reading it, Payson had always wondered whether she'd ruined Sasha's life. The thought of seeing him again was more frightening than anything else; now she'd know for sure whether that voice in the back of her head was right.

Sasha sighed and smiled kindly at his old gymnast. He made a move toward her.

Thinking it was the beginning of a hug – a gesture they'd shared countless times – Payson stood quickly to meet it. In the process she knocked over a glass of champagne on her shirt. The glass hit a china plate and shattered. Suddenly, the conversations around them silences and several heads turned in their direction.

"Oh geeze." She said, cursing her clumsiness.

A flock of waiters appeared by her side with napkins. She blushed furiously.

"I should go upstairs…" she said quickly, grabbing her bag and avoiding eye contact.

"No…you should stay-" Sasha started.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Payson said before he could convince her.

She shuffled past both Ben and Sasha, knowing full well that everyone in the dining room was staring at her. Without looking back, Payson headed straight for the elevators. She didn't exhale again until the doors were closed and she was alone.

_Good job, Payson_. she thought with a cringe as the elevator rose up to her floor. _Way to act like an awkward sixteen-year-old…again._


	3. Playing Nice

**Chapter 3**

"Pay, I have no idea why you're acting so silly. It's Sasha. What's the big deal?"

Kim Keeler's rational voice was echoing in Payson's hotel room. After running away from her old coach, the former Olympian retreated into her room, locked the door, and called her mother on speakerphone. She needed a good dose of common sense and Kim Keeler was usually good at that sort of thing.

"I know, right? I have no idea why I'm acting this way...it's just _Sasha_!" Payson said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, at least you didn't leave before he arrived. I can't believe that Kaylie, Lauren, and Emily would do that."

"Mom, they're mad..."

"But after everything Sasha did for them...it's a shame." Kim said. Payson could almost picture her mother shaking her head sadly in their Colorado home over a cup of streaming tea.

Payson shrugged and lay down on her bed. "Well, at least I got a letter from him before he left. I'm not sure how I would've reacted without that closure."

"Wait - Sasha didn't contact them before he left?" Kim asked curiously. "I just assumed he wrote a letter for every girl - "

"_Anyway_," Payson quickly changed the subject. "It's really tense here. I'm not sure if I'll survive the whole week in close quarters with these people."

"You used to do it everyday at the Rock." her mother reminded her. "Another week in New York shouldn't kill you."

Payson raised her eyebrows. _I'm not so sure of that_, she thought silently.

"But you have to promise me one thing, Pay." Kim continued. Payson knew that tone. Her mother was about to ask for a favor.

She sighed. "What?"

"Be nice to Sasha. Try and bridge the gap between him and the girls."

"Of course I'll be nice to Sasha!" said Payson defensively. "What makes you think I'd be rude?"

Kim Keeler paused, tactfully constructing the approach to her next statement. "Well...it's just that after your little crush on him a few years back-"

Payson groaned loudly into her phone and closed her eyes. She didn't even hear the rest of her mother's sentence because she was so mortified.

"Payson! Listen to me!" Kim urged her daughter over the phone. "You and Sasha were so close. I just want to make sure you don't avoid him this week because you're embarrassed or uncomfortable. You'll regret that later. Besides, I'm sure he's forgotten all about it by now. You were a teenager for goodness sake! He's not going to hold it against you..."

"Mom, I'll give you anything you want – anything at all - to stop talking about this!" Payson's cheeks were bright red and though she was alone, she still hated the flushed feeling that had taken over her body. This was the _last_ thing she wanted to talk about. "I promise to be nice to Sasha, OK? Can we drop the subject? _Please_?"

Noting the utter desperation in her daughter's voice, Kim Keeler complied with her wishes. She let the subject slide back into the deep, locked-away portion of Payson's thoughts. She knew that's where Payson preferred it anyway.

* * *

Apparently, Sasha Belov wasn't welcome in New York. It wasn't hard for him to pick up on the very obvious hints.

Monday morning when he arrived on the SNP set, Lauren Tanner's stare was so intense that he thought her eyes might burn holes in his skin. Kaylie Cruz took the opposite approach, opting to ignore him completely and stay at least fifty feet away from him at all times. He caught Emily Kmetko's occasional glance, but as soon as they locked eyes she would hastily turn away.

This was not a promising beginning to his week.

It didn't surprise Sasha that Payson Keeler was the only ex-gymnast to acknowledge his presence so far. When he walked in to the studio she gave him a half-hearted, apologetic smile that simultaneously said, "Hello" and "Sorry for the icy environment." It was a simple gesture, but he appreciated it. In fact, he had the sudden urge to stride over to her and give Payson Keeler a proper greeting. He would have too if Ben Pierce hadn't grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

"Belov! You're here." The television host said, leading him towards a giant monitor near the cameras.

He raised his eyebrow. Usually Sasha only let people he respected call him by his last name. Ben Pierce had yet to achieve this.

"Of course I'm here." Sasha said. "I said I'd be here, so I'm here."

So far, Sasha had proven himself the most reluctant and troublesome participant in the SNP special. It had taken Ben weeks to simply get Sasha on the phone, let alone convince him to get on camera. In fact, Ben had become a borderline stalker to get this man involved in the production. Despite all the groveling and trouble, it was worth it. SNP wanted Sasha Belov and was willing to fight the man's stubborn and introverted ways to get his face on television with the rest of the Rock Rebels.

_"Don't you want to see your gymnasts after all these years?" Ben had asked Sasha over the phone a few months ago. "I'm sure you all have so much to catch up on. When else will you get this opportunity? You can't say no."_

_"So all of them are on board?" Sasha had asked skeptically in return "All four - Emily, Lauren, Kaylie, and...Payson?"_

_He said the last name with particular doubt, but Ben assured him repeatedly that all were signed on to the show._

With that promise, Ben Pierce hit Sasha's weakness on the head. Not a day had gone by that Sasha Belov didn't miss the Rock Rebels. In the blink of an eye he went from seeing them everyday to seeing them a few times a year on television. From the chair in his living room he could watch their victories and failures, but he couldn't participate in them. He couldn't instill Emily with the self-confidence she needed. He couldn't shield Lauren Tanner from distractions. He couldn't challenge Kaylie Cruz to reach her full potential. He couldn't hug Payson after her flawless routines...

These emotions plus SNP's persistence led the great Sasha Belov to New York City. Now he was standing next to Ben Pierce feeling like a stupidest, most sentimental prat to ever walk the earth.

"I need you to look at something," Ben said, stopping Sasha in front of the monitor and pressing play. "These are some shots we took this morning before you arrived..."

Footage appeared on screen. It was all very..._awkward_. Clearly, SNP had planned to edit together these clips in a light-hearted way. Staged images flashed of the girls walking down the streets of New York, chatting in the park, and eating cupcakes in the sunshine, but the results did not have the intended warm-and-fuzzy effect. Sasha noticed that their smiles were rare and horribly fake. He winced at the footage of Emily Kmetko suddenly frowning then shoving her perfectly decorated pink cupcake into Lauren's face. He also noticed some pretty obvious elbowing as the camera filmed the Rock Rebels walking arm in arm on the city sidewalk.

"We were trying for the whole 'Sex in the City' feel…" Ben admitted sadly at the disappointing clips. "We filmed everything on location this morning...you know, trying to get some nice filler shots for the special. As you can see, it didn't turn out very well..."

Sasha furrowed his brow. "Why are you showing me this? What do you want me to do about it?"

Ben smiled politely at Sasha - a man he knew could easily beat him up. "I thought that as their old coach you might convince them to get along."

Sasha laughed. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the only thing the girls dislike more than each other is …well, me."

"Right..." Ben remembered sadly. "But couldn't you at least try? Who knows - you might still have sway with them!"

Sasha glanced back over at the girls. They were sitting silently in the corner of the studio, stone cold and not speaking.

He sighed. He would try, but he wasn't going to do it for Ben Pierce. Making _that _man's life easier was not on Sasha's priority list. What he _did_ care about was ensuring that the girls didn't make fools of themselves on cable television. They'd worked too hard and gone too far to ruin their legacies with a few caddy clips. He wouldn't stand for it.

Sasha walked over to them briskly, ready to face the unpleasant music he knew was waiting for him. As if sensing his approach, Payson Keeler glanced up. He noticed her blue eyes widen as he closed in on the group.

"Ladies." he said, smiling and nodding his head. As always, his tone was a mixture of respect, kindness, and command. "It's good to see -"

"_I'm sorry did you hear something_?" Lauren Tanner interrupted. She looked around, and motioned to Kaylie with mock curiosity. "I thought I heard someone say something but it just might've been my imagination..."

Kaylie rolled her eyes and looked back down at her vibrating phone. She wasn't about to play along with Lauren's games, but she didn't want to greet Sasha either.

"Hi." Emily said to Sasha, though she did so stiffly.

"Emily," he said warmly. "I hear you're in college now - "

"Oh just stop it, Sasha!" Kaylie Cruz finally cracked. She shoved her phone back in her pocket and crossed her arms. "We're not interested in making peace or playing nicely."

"_You_ certainly aren't..." Lauren muttered, eyeing Kaylie Cruz with an alarming amount of attitude.

Kaylie blushed and turned her displeased glare from Sasha to Lauren. "_Excuse me?_"

"Well...you haven't looked up from that phone since yesterday." Lauren commented cooly. "What's wrong? Are you texting Austin…making sure he's not cheating on you while you're away? I would certainly be worried..."

"Classy, Lauren." Emily said through gritted teeth.

"_What would you know about class, Kmetko_?"

Then, like an explosion, Emily, Lauren, and Kaylie stood up and all began talking at once. Their argumentative, offended tones all layered one on top of another like a strange, unpleasant symphony. Sasha felt like his head was about to burst from the pain of it all. There was an intolerable crescendo of sound until finally -

"SHUT UP!"

All three girls closed their mouths and almost everyone in the SNP studio turned toward the unlikely source of this exclamation.

Payson Keeler was standing now, her chest rising and falling and her fists clenched at her side. "I'm _sick_ of the arguing." she said sternly. "We're acting like a bunch of stupid teenagers and frankly, it's _embarrassing_."

Emily, Kaylie, and Lauren's jaws were dropped - more out of surprise than insult. Payson Keeler had barely spoken two words together since they arrived in New York. During the morning shoot she'd just stood by and tolerated the conflict without complaint. Little did they know, they'd slowly driven Payson Keeler to the edge of sanity.

A small smile escaped from Sasha's lips. He couldn't hold back the look of admiration on his face.

"Um…" a shy production assistant just approached the awkward scene as though tip toeing on egg shells. "I hate to disturb you all, but Ben needs to see Sasha for some individual interview time."

"T_ake him away_…" Lauren hissed under her breath. Payson glared at her.

Sasha kindly thanked to the SNP staff member. He looked around at the familiar faces once more before leaving. He remembered faintly how these same girls – now women – used to respect him and one another. A lot had changed since he left. That much was clear.

"Thank you for a delightful reunion." Sasha said with a dark twinkle in his eye. "After all these years of missing you and looking forward to this very moment, I have to say…_it's just what I hoped it would be_."

He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving four sets of eyes staring after him.


	4. Together Again

**Chapter 4: Together Again**

At the end of the day Sasha's icy comment was still ringing in Payson's ears. She had forgotten how intimidating that man could be. It reminded her of the fear she'd felt at sixteen when he first stepped into the Rock. It was almost comical to think that less than a year after that first meeting, Payson Keeler had gone from stuttering in her coach's presence to kissing him on the lips.

"Ah, Ms. Keeler! How can I help you?_"_

A friendly hotel desk attendant interrupted Payson's daydreaming. She recognized him, smiled, and stepped forward to the counter.

"Hello. I was wondering..." she started in a low voice. "Could I get the room number of an old friend of mine?"

The young man bit his lip, looking hesitant. "I'm sorry, Ms. Keeler, but for privacy reasons we don't usually do that sort of thing without expressed consent."

Payson Keeler sighed. She racked her brain for what to do in this situation. Should she tip him? Should she _flirt with him_?

Luckily, Payson didn't have to decide. The attendant folded rather quickly. He probably didn't like the idea of disappointing a pretty girl. Men were weak that way. He signaled for her to lean forward and he cautiously whispered, "Name?"

A grin spread across Payson's face. "Sasha Belov."

He clicked through the computer for a minute, then turned back to her and said, "Room 712, Ms. Keeler."

"Thank you." she said graciously. She flashed one more smile to the blushing desk attendant then headed towards the elevator. Payson wondered whether he would've helped her so willingly if he knew "Sasha" was the name of a tall, rugged man and not a dainty female friend.

She stepped into the elevator and pressed "7" firmly before she lost her nerve.

* * *

Ben had discovered a great deal about Sasha Belov that first day of filming. First, he learned that Sasha was a man of few words; Ben had to practically milk out answers from the man. Second, he discovered that Sasha had spent the bulk of his time since the Rock fishing and taking care of his father - nothing exciting or dramatic. Third, Ben learned that Sasha truly cared about his gymnasts despite the current turmoil. Each time he asked Sasha about any one of the Rock Rebels, the old coach's face would light up as he recalled a charming anecdote or praised an individual strength. It was a fascinating thing to watch – especially considering that three of those girls had just given him the cold shoulder.

After the long day of filming, Sasha returned to his hotel room. Without friends in the city, he had little else to do. He tried to fall asleep early, but he was unsuccessful. He even tried to watch American television, but that didn't work either (Sasha had very little interest in reality shows, criminal justice, and forensic science). Boredom finally set in as the light outside his window faded. His evening prospects looked bleak.

A sudden knock on his door made him jump. He wasn't expecting anyone, but he was craving any sort of excitement or human interaction. Without hesitation he strode over to the door and swung it open.

"P-Payson."

There she was in the flesh - the most talented and focused gymnast he'd ever coached. His jaw dropped slightly. He hadn't expected this.

Payson Keeler hesitated, wondering whether the surprised look on Sasha's face was a good or bad sign.

"Sorry. Am I disturbing you? This can wait…"

She started to turn away, but Sasha opened his door wider and motioned for her to come in. "No, of course not! Please come in."

Payson stepped in slowly. His room was a replica of her own, only with small traces of Sasha littered around: a tube of hair gel, a jar of Nutella on the dresser, and some white collared shirts hanging in the closet. She inhaled and captured traces of musky colone that triggered several memories.

Sasha closed the door behind her and, for the first time, got a good look at the twenty something version of his former gymnast. In many ways she was just as he left her. Everything in Payson's control was the same as it had always been – most notably her mature aura, casual style, and long hair. Some elements outside her control had evolved. Her body had changed as well as the way she carried it. Her muscles had softened and given way to feminine curves – a transformation common in retired gymnasts. Sasha noticed how Payson moved through space more gracefully too. Perhaps this had been a side effect of the artistic style in her later career. He smiled at the thought.

"What?" she asked when she caught Sasha staring at her.

"Nothing." Sasha said quickly. He politely motioned for her to join him on a nearby couch.

They sat in silence for a moment. Payson racked her brain for something to say. _When had talking to Sasha become so hard?_ She never used to have this problem. Luckily, Sasha spoke up first.

"What brings you here – not that I'm not happy to see you." He added quickly. "I am. It's great to see you, Payson."

"I wanted to apologize." She said, cutting directly to the core in her usual Payson fashion. "I understand why the girls are angry – I really do – but that doesn't justify their treatment of you today. I hope things will get better. In the meantime, I wanted to assure you that there is peace between us…at the very least."

Sasha exhaled some tension. "That's nice to know, Payson."

She smiled, revealing the dimples he remembered well. With the way things had been going so far this week, Payson hadn't had much of an opportunity to show them off.

"You know…" Sasha started curiously. "I'm interested to know why you aren't mad too? Why are you here and not the other girls?"

Payson paused. She knew the real answer, but she wasn't about to tell him. What would she say? _Well, Sasha, I'm secretly afraid that you leaving the Rock was all my fault and currently my guilt outweighs any traces of bitterness._

No, that wouldn't do.

"I promised my mom I'd be nice to you."

The joke was lame (though true), but it was preferable to her real answer. Sasha laughed out loud. He could just picture Kim Keeler begging her daughter to treat him nicely.

"Also," Payson continued with a faint blush. "I have something I need to return to you."

She dug through her purse momentarily, carefully extracting a wrapped up artifact from its depths. Sasha's eyes widened.

"Is that my -?"

"Gold medal." Payson finished. "Yes, it is. It was in my duffle bag and I thought I'd finally return it to its rightful owner."

She held it out to him, but he didn't take it.

"No," Sasha said, shaking his head. "You keep it. Really, I insist. It's more yours than mine now, anyway. Plus, I have three others."

Payson's face twitched momentarily, but she couldn't hold back her laughter for long. She finally snorted as her assumement took over.

"Sasha…" she said, calming down and taking a deep breath. "_that was either really sweet or really conceited_."

Sasha burst out laughing too. It was hard not to after he realized the full arrogance of his statement. Plus, Payson's laughter was rather infectious.

As if by magic, the rigid and polite formality of their reunion crumbled and they were once again Sasha and Payson – pure and simple. Sasha immediately relaxed into the ease of their interaction. He'd almost forgotten how natural talking to Payson Keeler felt.

"Wow…" he said. "Truly I didn't mean it that way…"

"_I know_, Sasha."

He paused and locked eyes with her, feeling better than he'd felt all day.

"Are you hungry?" he asked abruptly, letting his impulses take over.

"Uh…starving, actually."

"Good, because I'm taking you out." Sasha grabbed his coat from a nearby chair and took her hand to lead her to the door. Payson felt her body react to their first physical contact in years, but she wasn't sure he'd taken note of the milestone.

"Where?"

'Somewhere with real drinks and real food – none of that champagne and French crap from the hotel."

"Hmmm…" Payson said closing her eyes dreamily. _"I think I could do that..._"

* * *

Several hours later, empty plates and glasses littered the small circular table between Payson Keeler and Sasha Belov. Sasha had taken his former gymnast (now of legal drinking age) to his favorite pub in New York. He hadn't been there in years, but it didn't take him long to remember the spot. He proceeded to order them rounds and the _best_ worst pub food that Payson had ever seen.

"Eat up." He ordered playfully. "You can have this stuff now."

Payson laughed and grabbed a crispy, golden fry. "You don't have to tell me twice…"

It surprised Payson how quickly they fell back into their usual dynamic. At the beginning of the day they'd been staring at each other form across a studio. Now, they were each two beers down and completely caught up with one others' lives. Sasha told Payson all about his temporary retreat into the California wilderness and the relationship he was trying to mend with his father. Payson told Sasha all about her family and slow-paced, but happy life in Boulder, Colorado.

"It's hard to believe that you're still there…" Sasha said, half smiling.

Payson threw her napkin on the table. "Everyone keeps saying that! _What's so wrong with staying in Boulder?"_

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Sasha clarified. "I'm sure people are just surprised that you didn't move away after winning your gold medal."

She furrowed her brow. "Why would I do something like that?"

Her naïve perspective on this was almost adorable. Sasha knew very well how strange Payson's life choices looked to outside observers. After all, each of her former teammates had moved on to bigger and "better" things. For Payson Keeler, her reward had always been the win and not the spotlight. The thought of capitalizing on it hadn't crossed her mind. Sasha liked her all the better for it.

"I _am_ writing a book." she explained, as though justifying her quiet life. "That's something, at least."

Sasha leaned forward with interest. "Really? Can I see this book."

"No!" she cried, smiling at his boyish curiosity. "You'll have to buy it like everyone else."

"You're so ungrateful."

"Indeed." Payson joked. "But at least I'm speaking to you, right?"

Sasha smiled faintly, but couldn't completely hide his disappointment. Payson's heart sank and she quickly regretted her joke. She could tell that a part of Sasha still wished that there were three other young ladies with them at the table.

"They'll come around." She said, as if reading his mind. "You'll see."

"And if they don't?"

Payson sighed. "They will. We all missed you, Sasha. Emily, Lauren, and Kaylie wouldn't be so mad if they didn't. _Trust me_."

"I never intended to ruin the week." He said.

"Of course not."

"I just…I wanted to see you all. If I had to do it through some stupid television show…then so be it."

He grabbed his pint glass and drained the small bit left. Payson gently placed her hand over the one he'd left on the table top. "We all chose to be here, Sasha." she reminded. "Do you think everyone would've agreed to this is we didn't want to be together on some level?"

He looked into her blue eyes. They were filled with a kind, mature sincerity. A sense of thankfulness suddenly swept over him. Payson Keeler was here comforting him and he wasn't completely sure he deserved the attention.

"Thanks for the perspective, kid." He said with a smile.

Payson internally winced at his last word, but she didn't let it show. Sasha raised his hand and motioned for the bar tender to bring them another round. After their fresh beverages were in front of them, Sasha raised his up ceremoniously.

"To the past…" he said, clinking the glass to hers.

_…and the future_." Payson added, sipping the stout with her eyes locked on her old mentor.

**a/n **- Again, sorry for the infrequent updates! It appears that insomnia has cured my writers' block. Now, how do I cure the insomnia...?

As always, feedback both helpful and appreciated! =)


	5. Passive Aggressive Women

**Chapter 5**

For one lovely night in New York, Payson Keeler lost all sense of time. She forgot she was twenty-two. She forgot about gymnastics. She forgot about all the question marks currently floating over her life and the worries buried in the back of her mind. For a few hours, she existed purely in the present...with _him_.

At some point that night Sasha ceased being her coach. You could see it everywhere - in their tones, body language, attitudes, and reactions. It was in the way he laughed at her, even when she wasn't being funny. It was in the way she threw playful retorts back at him without hesitation. There was something radiating between them that was both _new_ and _familiar_. Neither could articulate it, but it was there. Perhaps Payson noticed this shift more than Sasha because when she returned back to her hotel room that night she had a giddy, bubbly feeling in her stomach. She felt light – like she was twisting through the air again, but her feet were strangely on the ground.

Unfortunately, her elation from her evening out didn't last long. Just a few hours later her alarm clock sounded and once again beckoned her to SNP studios for filming.

So far the second day of production was displaying little improvement from their chaotic beginning. Each of the former Rock girls still had chips firmly placed on their shoulders. It was so bad that Ben Pierce's stress was becoming visible on his young, handsome face. Payson noticed the bags under his eyes, most likely from the stress of getting everyone to cooperate with his vision. A make-up artist had to use cover-up on him, poor guy.

"Uh…are you OK?" Payson asked him with mild concern.

Ben nodded and drained his coffee cup with incredible speed. "You bet!"

Payson was skeptical, but she left it alone. The crew was setting up some couches for their first group interview. Across the large room Sasha was standing still as a SNP staffer poked and prodded him, straightening his tie and then tucking in his white shirt. Maybe it was just Payson, but this particular female SNP staffer looked like she was enjoying her task immensely. Payson chuckled to herself.

Sasha heard the familiar sound and his head turned up to Payson. From across the room he smiled and shrugged with embarrassment. She raised her hand and waved hello before -

"Payson?"

She jumped when Emily Kmetko brought her back to earth.

"Oh – Emily. What's up?"

"Nothing…" her old teammate grumbled, looking quite sour. "How painful do you think this will be today?"

"I doubt it will be that bad." Payson shrugged, attempting to stick to optimism. "It's not like anyone will act out on camera. Besides, it shouldn't be hard to pull it together for a few minutes and act like mature, civilized adults."

Emily didn't look too sure. "Payson I think you're forgetting one thing."

"What?"

"We're girls. Do not underestimate the power of passive aggressiveness."

Emily trudged over to the refreshment table, leaving Payson alone to contemplate her wise yet unsettling remark.

"You look excited for the group session." a sarcastic accent said to her left.

She turned toward Sasha Belov who was now apparently free from the enthusiastic wardrobe mistress.

"You make it sound like therapy, not an interview…" she said with a knowing look.

"It's a toss up." He joked, smiling at her reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, Payson. Somehow I don't think you'll have a problem. I have a feeling that out of all of us, you've got the smallest target on your back."

Sasha was probably right. Payson didn't recall doing anything too horrific to any of her teammates…well, _besides arguably driving their coach away with her inappropriate crush._ She groaned at the thought.

"What?" Sasha asked curiously.

"Oh…nothing." She dismissed quickly, deciding it was best not to explain her discomfort to him.

"Shall we?" he gestured toward the interview set. Payson stepped past him and led the way. As if leading her onward, Sasha placed a hand delicately above the small of her back. Payson sucked in her breath.

_Get a grip, Keeler_. She thought to herself desperately. _He's just being nice._

Lauren, Kaylie and Emily made their way over to the set too. Ben had already settled in his chair, leaving two small couches for the five interviewees. It was interesting, but their order and preference of seating said a lot about the buried tension amongst them.

Sasha was the first to sit. He did so without hesitation or awkwardness. For a moment, the rest of the Rock girls stood around stupidly, as though seeing who would dare sit next to the traitor. It didn't take long for Payson to roll her eyes and mumble, _"Give me a break"_ before taking the seat that no one wanted. Lauren then sat down on the empty couch across from them in an attempt to carve out her own territory. Kaylie was next and displayed a surprising choice. After a short pause, she turned toward Lauren and sat down, avoiding eye contact with Payson. Payson raised her eyebrow. _Since when did Kaylie prefer Lauren's company to hers? _Emily Kmetko, the last Rock Rebel, practically sighed with relief when she took the empty seat next to Payson. As she sat, Payson's body was pushed toward the right, smashing her and Sasha together. In response, Sasha raised his arm and rested it on the couch behind Payson's head. She tried to ignore the small shiver that trickled down her spine.

Soon after taking their seats, Ben set aside his notes and sat up straight in his chair, giving the cameraman a signal to start soon.

"OK guys…just relax and be yourselves!"

Payson gulped. In her opinion that was exactly what they needed to avoid.

Luckily, the first few minutes of filming were relatively uneventful. Ben rambled on to the camera, setting them up for fairly predictable, safe answers. As if warming up, he focused on neutral topics: mostly their favorite Rock moments and their individual lives since the Olympics.

"So…" he said jovially to the group. "Who would you say turned out the most surprising?"

Without hesitation Lauren said "Kaylie," Emily said "Lauren," and Kaylie said "Payson."

There was an awkward moment of silence before the three of them nervously laughed it off. Ben cleared his throat and continued.

"That's interesting…Emily why did you say Lauren?"

"Seriously?" Emily shifted her gaze around the interview set, her eyes darting around in confusion. How was it possible that no one else shared her opinion? "Uh…she's a model now. I don't know about you guys, but I didn't really see that one coming."

Lauren seemed to be taking Emily's remark as an insult. "Well, Ben." she interjected suddenly. "I'd still say that Kaylie's the real shocker."

"Why is that?"

"She never seemed interested in coaching other people _before_." Lauren replied pointedly. "Kaylie was always so good at being in the spotlight. I never pegged her for a behind-the-scenes kind of girl."

Kaylie's face tensed, but she was still smiling for the camera lens. Payson was beginning to understand Emily's comment about passive aggressiveness now. She could feel the conversation turning for the worst.

"I love coaching." Kaylie responded through gritted teeth. "It's might not be _modeling_, but it's very _rewarding_. I'm truly_ fulfilled_."

Lauren smiled sweetly back at her, but Payson knew she didn't mean it.

"So Kaylie," Ben said. "Why do you think Payson turned out surprising?"

Kaylie paused, looking insecure at the thought of justifying her answer. "Well, you know…she's been in Boulder this whole time. I guess I'm just surprised that she didn't do anything after the Olympics."

Payson's face fell at this. She wasn't as good of an actor as her other teammates. Her mind started to race and sift through possible justifications for her life choices - anything she could blurt out to defend herself. Unfortunately, nothing was popping into her head. Suddenly she felt very small. _Is that what they all think of me?_

Suddenly a voice broke the silence.

"Payson's writing a book!"

Everyone's head turned to Sasha, who had unexpectedly chimed in out of his overpowering protective instincts.

"Really, Payson?" Ben asked curiously. "I had no idea. When will it be out?"

Relief washed over Payson. Sasha had just effectively rerouted the conversation away from her oddly quiet life.

"If everything happens on time, it should be on shelves by the end of the year." she answered.

"Well, I'm sure we're all looking forward to reading that!"

Payson blushed again. "Really, don't expect a masterpiece or anything."

"Don't be so modest!" Ben said, leaning forward. "Will you discuss your injury and comeback?"

Payson nodded. "Um, yeah. That's a good portion of it." She felt heat creep up in her cheeks. She wasn't sure whether it was the lights from the studio or the fact that Sasha Belov was sitting next to her as she answered this particular question. He didn't know it, but across the city in her hotel room buried the bottom of her suitcase was a half-edited manuscript of her book. Whether implicitly or explicitly, Sasha existed on every page of her story. Now he was sitting next to her casually in person, completely unaware of the role he'd carved into her life.

"How fascinating!" Ben cried. "What a great story to tell."

"And it's all true..." Payson joked lamely.

Ben laughed anyway."Could you maybe give us a preview of some –?"

_"I knew this would happen…"_

Once again, everyone's head changed direction only this time it was toward Kaylie Cruz. She had just mumbled that last remark – probably louder than intended.

"What do you mean?" Payson asked her with genuine confusion.

Ben gave the cameraman a nervous look and echoed Payson's sentiment. "Is there something wrong, Kaylie?"

"Of course there is!"

That's when it happened. Someone finally cracked...just like Emily had predicted.

"It was only a matter of time until this became _The Payson Keeler Show_, right?" Kaylie asked bitterly, crossing her arms with agitation. "We were all expecting it!"

"Actually, " Emily started. "I wasn't–"

"This is ridiculous!" Kaylie said loudly, ignoring Emily. She was now on her feet. "I feel like every little interview turns into something about Payson. Well, this is about all of us – not just her!"

Payson's jaw dropped. She didn't even know how to begin to respond to this outburst. Since when had she _ever_ valued attention?

Lauren rolled her eyes at Kaylie's pathetic plight. "Jealous, anyone? Haven't you learned your lesson, Kaylie? Maybe if you'd spent less time trying _to be_ Payson during the Olympics, you would've medaled in something…"

"What?" the tiny brunette's eyes narrowed.

"Oh your heard me…" Lauren said, almost bored. "Did you think you were being secretive about it? I think Payson was the only one who didn't notice how nuts you were acting at the time…always attempting the stunts she was doing...always trying to match her DOD now matter how much it hurt your performance. Then again that's not too surprising. After all, when Payson's in "the zone" she rarely notices anyone, right?"

"Hey!" Payson said sharply, though she knew it was partially true.

"Well at least I competed in more than one event in the Olympics!" Kaylie returned.

"At least I medaled in the one event I DID compete in." Lauren shot back. "I mean, even Emily won a medal…_even though she lost the team title for us_"

"Hey!" Emily said angrily. "You can't put that on me –"

"I'm not jealous of Payson!" Kaylie insisted again, once again ignoring Emily. "I just don't get why everyone worships her like a god and tells her story like its some miracle. It's not like Payson is the only one who had to _recover_ from something on this team!"

"Oh you mean your ana–"

Like a lightening bolt, Emily Kmetko shot up from her seat and practically jumped on Lauren to cover her mouth and prevent her from finishing her sentence in front of Ben. Kaylie drained of color and the room suddenly fell into a eerie silence. In less than five minutes their group had gone from casual chit-chat to nearly outing one of their teammate's most personal, challenging secrets on camera. Payson didn't even want to think about what would've happened if Emily hadn't reacted so fast.

"Uh...what's going on?" Ben asked, waving his hand in the air, signaling for the camera man to cut.

"Nothing!" all four girls spat out at once. Sasha simply sat there next to Payson, his face hard and unreadable.

Everyone stood still for a moment, reveling in their collective embarrassment and shame. Ben blinked and looked back and forth between his interviewees with confusion. He had no idea what almost happened on his set.

Predictably, Sasha Belov was the only one brave enough to react first. He stood up and crossed his arms. Everyone looked up at him. They couldn't help it. Love him or hate him, the man had enough authority oozing out of his pores to command the attention of any room. He looked everyone straight in the eye one by one before finally speaking.

"Ben," he said slowly in his low, dangerous voice. "Can you please leave the girls and I alone?"

"Leave? What do you mean? We have to finish filming –"

"Not now. Not today." Sasha said.

"Yes now!" Ben looked around desperately, as if searching for another voice of reason to back him up. None came.

"Ben, you have two choice." Sasha said clearly and rationally. "You and the crew can leave now, give us the day to..._unwind_... and return to a cooperative working environment tomorrow."

"What's my second option."

Sasha sighed. "You can stay...and we can continue on as we are…._all week_."

Ben paused. Clearly, Sasha wasn't inviting debate or argument. He was just stating how it was going to be. Period.

"Fine." Ben finally said. "I guess some peace will be worth the lost time…but you better deliver, Belov!"

A few minutes later Ben Pierce was rounding up his SNP troops and leading them out the door. Everyone from the crew did as they were told and didn't ask questions, though it looked like they wanted to. It wasn't everyday that filming ended mid-day without explanation.

Before Ben Pierce exited the studio, Payson saw Sasha run over and whisper something to him. From a distance she saw Ben pause, ask a question, but then ultimately nod in response.

Ben Pierce finally shut the door, marking his exit with a loud echo from its slam. Much to everyone's dismay, the Rock Rebels and Sasha were very much alone in the SNP studio.

"Sasha, what did you just whisper to Ben?" Payson asked him curiously.

Sasha's face was stony when he gave them the terrifying answer.

"I told him to lock us in."


	6. Burning Resentments

**Chapter 6**

Much protesting ensued after Sasha's somewhat terrifying announcement. Locked in? _Together? _The whole concept of being trapped in a room with these people was overwhelming, even for Payson. At least she _trusted_ Sasha, despite the fact that she had no idea what he was trying to accomplish. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time Sasha Belov had pulled an unconventional stunt to teach them a lesson.

Kaylie, Lauren, and Emily each whipped out their cell phones and waved them around their heads to get more bars. Judging by the frustration on their faces, their efforts were not working.

"Don't bother." Sasha said, crossing his arms and standing tall. "There's no signal in here and Ben won't be back for a while."

Lauren groaned and stamped her foot on the ground. "You're completely insane. Sasha!"

"At least I'm smart enough not to pick a fight while someone is filming me!" he retorted easily. "Oh, and by the way….I believe that's the first time all week you've spoken directly to me. Thank you very much, Lauren"

"You're not our coach anymore, Sasha!" Kaylie pointed out angrily. "You can't boss us around like we're teenagers."

_"Then maybe you should stop acting like teenager_s!"

"What do you think we're going to do in here together for the afternoon…knit?" Emily asked . "What's your big plan, Sasha? Are you going to make us condition, clean mats and burn our resentments?" She laughed.

Sasha paused then allowed a mischievous smile to creep up on his face. He knew Emily had been joking, but he couldn't help but embrace her last suggestion.

_"Now, that's not a bad idea…"_

Payson watched in horror as her old coach strode across the room and grabed an empty trash bin and some pieces of paper that the SNP crew left behind.

This was probably the last thing Payson wanted to do right now. Sure, she wanted everyone to get along, but confronting some of the hidden emotions in the room just might kill them all. It was one thing when they were sixteen, but now the unspoken resentments had just gotten much more complicated. She felt no need to write them down and read them aloud.

"I am so not doing this!" Kaylie cried. "There is _no way_ you can make me."

"What are you so afraid of?" Sasha challenged.

"I'm not afraid of anything." She clarified. "I just don't want to do it."

"You know what?" Sasha said. "I_ don't give a damn what you want to do_. If you want to continue these little grudges and ruin your reputations, then fine! Don't let me stop you. Just remember that there are thousands of little girls out there who look up to you four and will watch you snip at each other on primetime."

The girls became quiet. They exchanged shifty glances, but didn't say anything.

"_That's what I thought…_" Sasha muttered, placing the trash bin in front of them. He passed out the slips of paper and shoved writing utensils in their hands. "Now let's just do this, shall we?"

"Wait!"

Emily Kmetko locked eyes with Sasha Belov. She marched over to him, took the stack of paper in his hands and placed it down on the floor. She grabbed another sheet and held it up to him.

"What?" he asked, looking perplexed.

"You're participating this time around." Emily said with determination. "It's only fair. After all, you left us will a lot of unanswered questions."

Sasha laughed nervously, but stopped when he saw how serious Emily was.

_"Seriously?_" he asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Kaylie and Lauren answered together, clearly agreeing with Emily (perhaps for the first time all week).

Sasha shot Payson a somewhat desperate glance. "Payson?"

She bit her lip. "Emily _does_ have a point…"

Sasha raised his eyebrow, surprised by the consensus. Still, he didn't argue. He caved, took the paper form Emily, and began to write.

They all began to write. It must've been at least twenty minutes of intense reflection before anyone looked up from their papers. Funny how all week they had so little to say to each other, but now they were writing like mad people.

Finally they all looked up at each other, shifting their eyes around the room as thought playing a silent game of chicken. _Who would dare go first?_

"You know what?" Emily said suddenly. "I'll go first. Might as well, right? If I let anyone else go first they might just interrupt me. I can't remember the last time one of you truly listened to me-"

"Oh just read your paper, Kmetko!" Lauren said, waving her hand dismissively.

Emily rolled her eyes. She cleared her throat and began.

_"I resent the fact that everyone is blaming me for our Olympic loss in London –"_

"Because you choked on vault!" Lauren cried.

"Give me a break!" Emily retorted. "There were plenty of people that didn't perform up to par that night. Why blame me? Why is it _my _fault?"

"I never said it was your fault!" Kaylie argued.

"Yeah, but you and Payson never stood up to me! Everyone seemed just fine blaming me because it made them feel better, didn't it?"

Payson felt a lump rise in her throat. How many times had she stood silently by and let Lauren blame Emily for their defeat. Too many, she thought with regret.

"Emily, I'm sorry…" she said sincerely.

Emily averted her gaze with pain and read on.

_"I also resent Sasha for abandoning us. He knew how much we needed him and he didn't even stay in touch."_ She looked up and caught his glance, now choosing to address him directly. "You promised me you would be there for me, Sasha. You said I could trust you, remember? You said you'd be there to catch me…to catch all of us."

Sasha looked dumbfounded at her speech. True, he knew that the girls were angry with him, but before this moment he'd never grasped the disappointment and sadness that resulted from his actions.

"You have to understand…." He started lamely. "I thought I was doing what was best-"

Emily silenced him with her sharp stare. Clearly, she wasn't interested in hearing his perspective on this matter. She just shook her head and sat back down again, making sure to throw her piece of paper in the trash bin.

Kaylie sighed. "Well, I guess I'll go next. I think I'm ready to relieve some anger…"

"I bet you are…" mumbled Lauren.

"Oh don't even start, Lauren!" Kaylie warned. "Don't think I don't know what you would've said on camera if Emily hadn't jumped on top of you!"

"I'm sorry!" Lauren said, raising her hands up in surrender. "Seriously, I'm mad at you, but _that_ wasn't intentional. I'm a bitch sometimes, but I'm not _totally evil_!"

"_Yeah, yeah._" said Kaylie. "I can't believe that you almost announced my eating disorder on camera. Then everyone would've known!"

"So what?" Payson asked suddenly.

That was a surprising declaration. Emily's eyes widened and Lauren whistled under her breath. Even Sasha looked shocked at Payson's reaction.

"Excuse me?" Kaylie asked in a dangerous, low voice.

"Geeze, Kaylie! You're right – you went through something insanely hard time and you survived." Payson argued. "Why won't you celebrate that? You had such an amazing opportunity to be a role model for other girls going through what you went through…and what do you do instead? You pretend it never happened! That's not strength, Kaylie. That's called being a coward."

Kaylie's mouth dropped like a heavy weight.

"You want to know why you didn't win the gold in 2012?" Payson continued with harsh honesty. "It's because you let your past weigh you down instead of strengthen you like it should have. Well, congratulations, Kaylie! After all these years, you've managed to hold fast to denial. How does it feel?"

Payson finished and glanced around at her stunned audience. No one said a word. Her eyes cast down to her feet.

"Wow…" Emily said under her breath.

Payson took a seat, not knowing whether to feel liberated or stupid.

"OK…since we're all being so honest now..." Lauren said suddenly. "Maybe it's my turn."

She stood up dramatically and eyed Payson in particular. Payson felt her stomach tighten. She wasn't sure what was coming, but she was sure it wouldn't be pretty.

"Sasha I don't resent you for leaving_ before_ Worlds…" she said, turning to him.

Sasha looked pleased until –

"I resent you because _in reality_, you clocked out_ way_ before then."

His face fell.

"What are you talking about?" he asked with genuine ignorance. "I was working at the Rock up until –"

"Yeah, but with which one of us?" Lauren asked with an upturned eyebrow. "It wasn't me. It was Kaylie. It definitely wasn't Emily. Tell me, Sasha…who were you spending all of your energy on during those very important months before Worlds?"

Lauren didn't even have to say Payson's name to get her point across. Sasha knew right away who she was talking about – then again, perhaps that said something in itself.

"She was injured!" Sasha insisted, losing his cool and getting defensive. "I would've done the same for any of you if you were in that situation."

"What?" Lauren asked with amusement. "Were you helping her with physical therapy at fancy ballets and on house calls? You know, we were all growing through things too! Kaylie was sick, I was dealing with my mom, and Emily had all that legal trouble…but whose house did you visit every other night? Who did you stay late with at the Rock?""

Payson had never seen Sasha blush, but it was happening. A light pink shade crept up on his face underneath his layer of sandy blonde stubble.

Payson wished she could think of something to say – anything at all – but the fact of the matter was, Payson had often wondered the exact same things. Often during her emotional period of recovery she would stop and ask herself why Sasha was spending so much time with her….the one elite at the Rock with almost no chance of getting to London in 2012.

"So…" Lauren continued, noticing that she had touched all the right nerves. "What do you have to say for yourself, Sasha? What are your resentments to us? We're all just dying to know…"

Sasha looked up at her with a stony face. With one fluid motion, he tossed his sheet of paper in the middle of their circle. It slid across the slick studio floor and spun on the ground. Lauren lunged for it with Kaylie and Emily chose behind. They huddled around the paper and looked at it curiously.

"Wait," Lauren said, her face falling once she saw what was on it. "what is this?"

Kaylie leaned her head to the side. "It looks like –"

"A race car." Emily finished. She pointed to the other side of the paper. "And that looks like Snoopy."

Sasha smirked. "Yeah, I've always been proud of that particular doodling skill..."

They stared at him in disbelief. Payson couldn't help it…she smiled.

"So you doodled while we were writing?" she asked him.

"Yup."

"I thought you were going to take this seriously!" Kaylie said.

"I did." He defended himself. "I just don't have any resentments towards you girls. You insisted that I participate in this little activity, so I did. Is that a problem?"

Emily gaped at the paper again. Lauren looked almost disappointed that Sasha was waving his white flag.

"So you have nothing to say to us?" she asked him again, just to make sure.

"Sure, I do." He answered. "I don't have any bottled up, angry speeches, but I do want to apologize for the way I left. It was wrong to cut ties so suddenly. At the time I was acting on my best judgment, but now I know there was a better way. I'm truly sorry that I hurt you girls. Trust me, that was the opposite of my goal."

Lauren set the paper down in a mixture of resignation and defeat. For some reason the girls (with the exception of Payson) had been expecting Sasha to be angry at them. After all, they'd spent the greater part of the week giving him the cold shoulder and talking behind his back. They'd almost been looking forward to finally battling with him about his dramatic exit from their lives. In a way, the conflict would've been satisfying. The last thing they expected was a sincere, simple apology from the man they had put so much effort into demonizing. They almost didn't know what to do with it.

Suddenly, the SNP doors swung open again and Ben Pierce waltzed in impatiently. Everyone jumped a bit at the sudden interruption.

"OK, Belov – are you done yet?" he asked unceremoniously. "I have to lock up for real now and you guys need to leave. Was that enough time? Is everyone cured of their bitterness?"

Sasha sighed and stood up, brushing off his trousers and shrugging. "I guess we'll see tomorrow, won't we?"

Ben Pierce didn't look satisfied with this answer, but Sasha didn't care. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started to leave the studio. His handiwork was done. Now only time would tell if he had achieved his peacekeeping goal.

"Payson," he caught her attention before he left.

Payson's blue eyes locked with his own. "Yes?"

"Can I speak with you later tonight?" he asked.

Payson pasued. She searched his face, wondering if maybe she could pick up a motive in his question. She couldn't.

"Of course." she answered.

Sasha squeezed her shoulder and gave her a half-hearted smile. Then, without announcement, he grabbed her hand. Payson's heart sped up before she realized what he was doing. He'd taken hold of her palm, opened it, and dropped one match inside. He winked at her before finally turning to the door.

"Uh…what exactly did you guys do in here?" Ben asked, eyeing the trash bin curiously.

"Nothing." Payson answered.

She turned to her old teammates with purpose and held up the match. Hitting it against the side of a table, it lit up quickly. She tossed it into the container, feeling her heart lighten in the process.

For the next few minutes the Rock Rebels sat in silence and watched the flames consume their resentment.

* * *

a/n: Is everyone ready for a large dose of Sasha/Payson? Read the next chapter...=)

Please review and let me know what you think!


	7. Who are we?

**Chapter 7:**

The phone in Payson's hotel room was ringing off the hook. She ran from the bathroom, her hair still sopping wet from her shower and picked it up.

"Yes?" she asked quickly.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Payson's eagerness was stemming from the fact that Sasha had vaguely expressed interest in seeing her that night. She had no idea when, where, or how – but since when did men give details, anyway?

"Ms. Keeler, this is the front desk."

"Oh." Her heart sank a bit. "What is this about?"

"Mr. Belov didn't know your room number, so he asked us to contact you. Will you be available for dinner in twenty minutes? He can meet you in the lobby."

"Ah…" Payson glanced over at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a wet, tangled mess and her eyeliner from the day was dripping down and staining her cheeks. She cringed.

"Sure…" She finally said, though it came out more like a question than a statement. "Tell him that should be fine."

Payson hung up and sprung into action. Knowing that she wouldn't have enough time to dry her hair, she took a clip from her make-up back and twisted it up and out of her face. Eighteen minutes later she was half running, half walking out the door as she continued to slip her black flats on clumsily. Once in the elevator she took a deep breath, using her reflection in the silver, glassy doors to make sure everything was in order.

Suddenly, they opened to the brightly lit lobby. Sasha was there – hands in his pockets casually, wearing a crisp, clean white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He had a boyish grin on his face. Payson would've never described her old coach as "boyish" until this week. Perhaps it was about her new perception that came with age. As a sixteen-year-old obsessed with gymnastics, she would've never taken the time to put two and two together and realize that Sasha's mannerisms – from his crooked smile to his playful stare-downs – screamed _boyish_. Funny how time can alter vision.

"Hey." She said, smiling.

"Hey yourself." He said. "Thanks for coming down last minute."

"Oh… it was no problem!" she lied.

"I'm happy to see you wearing your color."

Payson furrowed her brow and looked down. She was wearing a v-neck deep purple dress and a black cardigan. Like most of the nicer pieces in her wardrobe, these had been Kim Keeler purchases. According to her mother, Payson could not be trusted to shop for herself.

"Thank you." she said, smoothing out her skirt self consciously. "You know, since I can't wear purple leos anymore, I figured I have to make up for it somehow."

He laughed. "At least this looks more comfortable than a leotard."

_"Oh you have no idea…"_

That night Sasha took her to a nice Italian place that Ben Pierce had recommended to him. There were candles on the tables, fresh flowers, and string lights on the walls that twinkled and reflected off the neat rows of sparkling glassware. Payson smirked when she saw the ambiance before her. Ironically, she was only fifteen minutes into her evening with Sasha Belov and this was already the nicest date she'd ever been on…._and it wasn't even a date_.

Dinner was delicious. Everything from the bread to the main course made Payson's mouth water. Their enthusiastic waitress kept bringing over complimentary glasses of wine. Payson suspected that she knew who she was.

At one point, Payson noticed Sasha staring at her. He had folded his hands together, his eyes dancing over her with amusement.

"What?" Payson asked at his peculiar expression. "Do I have something between my teeth?"

He laughed. "No, nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"You just look so grown-up tonight. It's strange."

"Strange?"

"Interesting…" he corrected.

"Interesting?" Payson echoed, not knowing what to make of these adjectives.

Sasha sighed. "You know what I mean…you're different. You're older."

"I'm twenty-two." she specified. Payson had never really given her age much thought because she's generally acted the same since birth. Even her mother will tell complete strangers who her oldest daughter came out a thirty-year-old woman.

"Yeah, of course..." Sasha said, averting his eyes and shaking his head. "You're still pretty young."

She eyed him skeptically, trying to read the meaning in his words. Unfortunately, that was nearly impossible to do with Sasha Belov. She gave up quickly.

"So…today was eventful." she continued, trying to change the subject.

"That's one way to put it."

"It sort of reminded me of old times."

Sasha laughed "You mean when I made your life hell?"

"Exactly."

They locked eyes and chuckled together. Payson felt a light blush coming up on her cheeks. Sasha reached over the table with his fork and took a piece of her chicken. She smacked his hand away playfully, but eventually let him claim his prize. Sasha triumphantly took the mouthful and chewed with satisfaction.

_I wonder if this is what flirting is_…Payson thought stupidly as she sat across this man with sparkling blue eyes. Such a crazy question would only surface in the mind of Payson Keeler – the girl who had spent more time in the gym than in the mall as a teenager. Her versions of boy-girl interactions were limited to stolen moments by water coolers. She was smart enough to realize that this wasn't normal.

Sasha finished his dinner and pushed his plate it towards the center of the table. He leaned towards Payson and admitted something to her. "I realized something today after we got back from the studio."

"What?"

"You never got your turn with the 'resentment game.' You never told the group what was on your mind." Sasha said, staring her down with a searching intensity.

Payson hadn't even realized this, but he was right. She had reacted to Kaylie's complaints quite vocally, but she never actually spoke up for herself.

"So what?" she asked dismissively.

"Do you have any resentments or regrets, Payson Keeler?"

Payson cringed inwardly at his question and stared down at her fingers. There was no chance in hell she was going to give him a straight answer to that – not when they were alone and not when she had her wits about her. She wouldn't be able to do it without mentioning the one thing they'd miraculously managed to avoid this entire week…the one subject she was both dying and dreading to bring up…the large elephant in the room that was suffocating her…

_The Kiss._

"Well?" Sasha asked again, clearly not satisfied with her reflective silence. "I'm waiting Payson."

Instead of answering, she smiled coyly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Sasha shook his head and sat up straight again. "You're a just mystery, aren't you?"

"Yes – and I prefer it that way."

"Fine, fine…"

"Is that why you wanted to get together tonight?" she asked curiously. "Were you just dying to know what was on my piece of paper?"

Sasha paused and thought. "Actually…I really just wanted to hang out."

She smirked. "Really?"

"Yeah." He said, shrugging. "Since when does there have to be a purpose for us to spend time together?"

Payson blinked. _Since always_, she wanted to say. That's the way it's always been. They were close, yes, but his presence in her life had always been fueled by practical outcomes. He took her to the ballet to teach her about grace. He visited her home to convince her to come back to the Rock. He stayed late with her to perfect her new floor routine. Each minute they'd spent together in their entire lives had a direct route back to gymnastics and their natural gymnast-coach relationship. Almost without noticing it, Sasha had just dismissed that completely in one sentence. Payson couldn't decide whether it was exciting or unsettling.

_Who are we?_ she wanted to ask. She wanted to scream the question at the top of her lungs, but she didn't. She simply forked her tiramisu and filled her mouth before she could say anything stupid.

"I've brought you two dessert wine – on the house!" their waitress appeared out of nowhere with a complimentary blackberry wine. Payson's eyes widened as the server filled their glasses. _This was not going to help with her confusion…_

"It isn't sparking cider in champagne flutes, but it'll do – right Payson?" Sasha said, winking at her.

Payson gulped her wine, feeling flushed from the fond memory he'd just referenced. Then again, it might've been the alcohol…

* * *

Payson Keeler had never been truly intoxicated before this night. The only time she'd come close was after the Olympics when she, Austin, and Nicky Russo had stayed up drinking champagne together on the roof of their hotel in London. All three had won all-around medals and formed a spontaneous, celebratory "champions club" (Austin had come up with the name after his fourth drink). Payson got tipsy then, but remembered the entire evening with perfect clarity.

Tonight was different…_very different_.

All the colors around her were brighter, her senses heightened somehow. The fuzziness of her vision made everything glow – almost beautifully. She was rather enjoying it. True, her head was spinning and she had to clutch Sasha's arm for support, but generally she was having fun.

"That waitress kept giving us wine!" Sasha cried, trying his best to lead Payson through the revolving door of their hotel. The fact that he couldn't walk in a straight line or properly estimate depth wasn't helping. He accidently smashed both of their bodies into one turning wedge, forcing Payson's body up against his own.

She wasn't complaining.

"Tonight was great, wasn't it?" Payson asked in a higher pitched voice than usual. "I wore a dress…you had rolled up sleeves…I got to eat pasta…and there was _no gymnastics_."

She knew she was making no sense, but that didn't stop her from talking. Usually Payson was a very calculated speaker. It seems the alcohol had turned off her usual filter.

"Well, in my personal experience those are all the ingredients needed for an amazing evening on the town." Sasha countered playfully.

_Is it just me, or does his British accent get stronger when he's drunk?_ Payson wondered to herself dreamily.

The motley pair tripped into the elevator laughing, still connected by their linked hands. It reached Payson's floor first. She let go of him, stood on tip-toe, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye!" she cried, jumping out the doors before they closed on her.

Sasha's strong arm blocked them and he followed her out.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I have to make sure you get to your room alright!" he said with a pompous sort-of chivalry that highly amused her.

Payson rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand again, this time dragging him down the hallway to her door. She got out her purse and started fumbling for her key card. She tried several times to open her suite, but was having no luck.

"Man…" she cried in frustration. "I can _never_ get these."

Sasha chuckled. "I think that's a library card, Payson."

He grabbed it from her hand and examined the rectangle in question. "B_oulder Public Library…_" he read aloud with approval. He turned it over and bust out laughing, pointing to the crooked signature on the back.

"I was six!" she said defensively. "No one can write in straight lines when they are six!"

_"You're adorable…"_ Sasha said through his laughter.

Eventually, Payson got the door open. Almost absentmindedly, Sasha followed her in and – also absentmindedly – Payson let him without thinking twice about it. Saying goodbye was on neither person's mind.


	8. The Morning After

**Chapter 8: The Morning After**

Even with his eyelids firmly closed, Sasha Belov could sense the harsh morning light beating down on his skin. His head was spinning and he knew the source of his pain all too well; this feeling was the usual souvenir he received after a night of excessive alcohol.

_I'm getting too old for this rubbish…_he thought.

Sasha groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes to make sense of his surroundings. It looked like he was in his hotel room. Yes, _this was most certainly a hotel room._ The generic painting on the wall, starched sheets beneath him, and freakishly beige tints were proper indicators of this. So far everything made sense.

Then, oddly, he started picking up on items in his line of sight that didn't fit – things that wouldn't necessarily belong in _his_ hotel room. He spotted some luggage leaning against the wall that he didn't recognize and some dirty plates from room service that he didn't remember ordering. Suddenly, his attention focused to a pair of stylish, simple black ballet flats.

_Those are not my shoes._

Sasha gasped and instantly rolled over toward the center of the bed. Unfortunately, his hand smacked against something. It was a person.

A woman.

He yelped and jumped from the bed with height and speed not seen since his Olympic days. Realizing that he was naked, Sasha quickly surveyed the room for his boxers and finally found them underneath a black cardigan on the floor. As Sasha fumbled with the clothing, he forced himself to mentally retrace his steps from the night before.

_I came back from SNP, called for dinner reservations, Payson and I went out….Did I pick someone up after that? At a bar maybe? I don't remember going out again…_

Sasha's eyes widened suddenly. With a sinking feeling, he looked over to the other side of his bed. From where he stood now, all he could see was a curved body half hidden by a long, familiar curtain of blond hair.

"Bloody hell!" he swore loudly.

Payson bolted up at the sound of his voice. Unprepared for this reaction, Sasha stumbled back into the entertainment center and grabbed a nearby table for balance.

"Wha -?" she started with confused, squinted eyes. Payson Keeler could still feel some alcohol in her system. At present, she was still waking up and trying to figure out what Sasha Belov was doing in her room so early in the morning.

"Why are you in your boxers?" she asked groggily, not realizing what a ridiculous question that was.

Sasha paused and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I sort of woke up here."

Payson slowly glanced over at the other half of her bed. A distinct indent was in the mattress - a _Sasha sized_ indent.

Her mouth dropped in shock and her imagination started producing hundreds of possibilities at once. Feeling overwhelmed, she massaged her temples as if to push the hangover out of her brain so she could understand the events of the last eight hours more clearly.

"P-P-Payson?" Sasha stuttered stupidly as his young ex-gymnast reluctantly locked eyes with him.

"Um...yes?." Payson was attempting to remain calm. Perhaps her years of stoic emotional training had been preparing her for this exact moment.

"I, uh, suppose I blacked out last night. W-Were we…did we..?" Sasha cleared his throat and averted his eyes to the floor. He was flailing around like a fish on dry land, trying to be some sort of gentleman in this ungentlemanly condition. "What I mean to ask is…if the two of us….maybe…_possibly_….in our _drunken state_…"

"Had sex?" Payson offered. She seemed to be the only adult in the room brave enough to say that three-letter word.

"_Right_." croaked Sasha.

Payson paused at the inquiry. _Had they done the deed? _She didn't remember any more than he did about last night. The idea of sleeping with Sasha was starting, but not repulsive. _Not repulsive at all…_

Payson sat up straighter, forcing herself out of that slippery slope of Sasha-related day dreams that she was about to enter. Now was not the time or the place. They needed some answers.

She glanced down at herself. Under the covers Payson was still wearing her dress. She sighed and, as if waving a white flag, threw the blankets off her body and showed Sasha the evidence he was looking for.

Sasha exhaled all the built up tension in his body. "Oh, thank God!"

Payson couldn't help it. She silently raised an eyebrow with attitude.

"I mean, you know…" he tried to clarify. "If would just be awkward, right?"

"Right." Payson cracked a nervous smile. "_Awkward._"

Sasha started to gather up more of his clothes scattered around the floor. "I must've just fallen asleep here after all the fun…"

_"Naked?_" Payson asked with a skeptical smirk.

"Yeah…I haven't figured that part out yet."

Sasha now had pants on, which improved the tension in the room slightly. He sat back down on the bed and sighed. Payson leaned against the headboard and tucked her long hair behind her ear.

It's moments like these when people can truly test their tact and social grace. Unfortunately, those were two strengths that neither of these former Olympians possessed. They were not used to waking up with strangers and dealing with harsh and confusing early morning realities. Before this encounter, Payson had only seen such scenes in movies. Now her life felt like a movie.

"So…" Sasha said after some silence. "Are we good, then?"

Payson cleared her throat and pretended that she she hadn't just been staring at his bare, muscular chest. "Uh…yeah. We're fine." She managed to crack a reassuring smile for good measure. That put her old coach at ease.

Sasha grabbed his phone on the nightstand, checked the time and groaned.

"Are we due in the studio soon?" Payson guessed.

He nodded. "In an forty-five minutes. I better get back to my room and shower."

Though his mind was free of guilt, Sasha still left the room with hesitation. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something didn't feel right. In fact, he felt like he was forgetting something….something very important. If he wasn't so hungover and in such a rush, Sasha Belov might've had the mental capacity to remember.

Payson, however, was forced out of blissful ignorance.

The second Sasha left her she sulked for exactly three minutes then slowly got up from her hotel bed. When her feet touched the ground, her toes encountered something small and soft. She looked down in horror and let the whole truth flood through her cloudy, aching head.

There, crumpled unceremoniously on the floor of her hotel room, was her underwear.


	9. Upsidedown

**Chapter 9: Upside-down**

A few hours before Payson and Sasha woke up to their awkward situation, Ben had been jolted alert before daybreak by his vibrating phone. He answered it out of instinct, but before he could open his mouth to speak the booming voice of his boss at SNP took over.

_"Ben, I'm not sure if you've realized, but boring television doesn't make money. Exciting television makes money. Controversial television makes money. High school geeks singing and housewives getting in fights – now that's entertainment! Those rough interview clips you sent me from yesterday's shoot not only put me to sleep, but made me rethink this entire project. The girls are nice to look at and their little passive aggressive fighting is OK…but it's not good enough. America doesn't care about gymnastics, Ben. They care about drama. Get it together and give me something else."_

The line went silent and Ben groaned into his pillow. This wasn't an excellent start to his day.

"Damn Richard for waking up at 5 am…" Ben cursed as he forced his tired body out of bed. It seemed that now he had no option but to go in early and figure something out before the rest of the crew and staff arrived. He needed to sort through footage for Richards desired "drama."

When Ben got to the studios it was cold and dark. He trudged over to the editing room balancing his large cup of coffee. He then proceeded to run through clips for inspiration. Buried deep under the girls' passive aggressive attitudes he knew there was something else; he could tell when Emily Kmetko practically pounced on Lauren Tanner the day before. It was obvious the girls were hiding something…Ben just needed to figure out what it was. Easier said than done.

Still half asleep, Ben sat back and listened to an interview he'd conducted with Sasha Belov the day before.

"_What was your favorite part about coaching?" Ben had asked._

_Sasha smiled. "Gymnastics is more than a sport – this training changes the way you think and approach life. Every good coach I've had has emphasized that and, I believe, made me a better person. I'd like to flatter myself and say I attempt to do the same. Whether it worked or not, well…you'll have to ask the girls."_

"_Were there any girls you formed special bonds with in particular?"_

"_I think I formed a unique coaching relationship with each girl. Kaylie is an excellent gymnast already – for her, it was more about cultivating her leadership and focus. Emily had little experience with official coaching, so much of our relationship was about establishing foundational trust. For Lauren, I tried to push her out of her comfort level and make her a more well-rounded competitor."_

"_And what about Payson?" Ben asked._

_Sasha paused. "I already mentioned Payson."_

"_No you didn't."_

"_Oh." Sasha smiled. "Sorry. Well…Payson was a special case. For a while we didn't think she could compete again so, in a way, I stopped being her coach and became more of a friend during that time. Once she recovered and came back, I think that unique dynamic helped. She needed more support and encouragement to build herself back up as an athlete – both mentally and physically."_

"_And then she won a gold medal…" Ben said._

_Sasha chucked. "I wouldn't dare take credit for that, Ben."_

"_Yes, well…" Ben continued. "you did leave the Rock. We've talked a lot about your coaching, but we haven't discussed why you stopped. What went into that decision?What made you leave before the Olympics?"_

Ben paused the tape. Sasha's facial expression suddenly jumped out to him. He hadn't caught it during the interview, but there was a clear expression of regret and pain.

Sasha Belov was hiding something.

Ben pressed play again, this time completely alert.

"_Well…" the reluctant Belov started to answer the question. "My time at the Rock was over. It was as simple as that."_

"But w_hat do you mean?" Ben pushed. "You left voluntarily, didn't you?"_

"_Yes, that's right. I just think that I had served my purpose there. I did my best for as long as I could, but if I think someone else can do a better job…well, then I know it's time to step down."_

"_You don't think you did a good job?" Ben asked skeptically. "You got four girls on the Worlds team…"_

"_I'm not…" Sasha struggled. "I'm not talking about gymnastics."_

Ben stopped the tape. How could he have missed this before? He'd been so focused on cracking the girls that he completely ignored the key part of the Rock equation: Sasha Belov. Sasha's exit had always been mysterious, but he never considered it a vital part to their Olympic story. Now, he was starting to think it was.

There was a reason Sasha left the Rock and Ben Piece was going to find out why. His job depended on it.

* * *

Payson Keller hoped that the make-up artists and hairdressers at SNP were up for a challenge that morning. With only a few minutes to get ready (and get over the shock of seeing her underwear _not on her body_), she had no choice but to skip her shower.

_"Oh my…"_ Emily Kmetko said when she saw her old teammate rush into the studio ten minutes late.

"I know, I know." Payson said, rolling her eyes. She was a mess – both inside and out.

"Is something wrong, Pay?" Emily's glanced over Payson's baggy tees shirt and jumpy behavior.

Payson laughed nervously. "Wrong?_ Of course not!"_

She was a bad liar.

Payson hadn't been in the studio one minute before a distressed make-up artist launched on her and forced her in front of a mirror. The SNP staffer immediately started poking and prodding her with beauty instruments and hair products. Payson closed her eyes and let them work their magic. All she wanted to do was forget the night before and move on with her life. Unfortunately, a familiar voice was about to interrupt her Zen.

_"Payson Keeler, you had sex last night didn't you?"_

Payson's eyes shot open and she gasped. Lauren Tanner was standing before her with her hands on her hips. Kaylie and Emily were behind her looking both curious and uncomfortable.

"Excuse me?" Payson sputtered.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Pay." Lauren said, taking a seat next to her. "A model can tell…that's morning after appearance. It's pretty obvious."

Emily Kmetko bit her lip, trying not the smile. "Yeah, Payson…I'm not a model and even I can tell-"

"I just over slept!" Payson defended.

"Payson Keeler? Oversleep? You arrive to everything an hour to thirty minutes before it starts." Lauren smirked. "It's more likely that you had a one night stand."

"She has a point." said Kaylie. "Plus, you sort of have a hickey on your neck..."

Payson's jaw dropped and looked in the mirror quickly. Kaylie was right. There, just on the nape of her neck was a modest sized dark blotch of skin. It was her first hickey and Payson didn't even remember it. _How pathetic_. Payson blushed deeply, wishing that she could run and hide. Unfortunately, someone's hands were in her hair so her had to stay put and face the music. Payson knew now that in order to recover any dignity she'd have to say something really clever – something extremely sharp and witty that would prove her teammates wrong and force them to leave her in peace.

_"You guys suck!"_

OK, so that wasn't was she had in mind...

"Oh come on, Payson." Lauren said, actually sounding friendly for the first time all week. "You can tell us. This is a new naughty side of you…_and I like it_."

"I'm not doing this, guys!" Payson said, folding her arms.

Emily looked confused. "Doing what?"

"This!" Payson gestured between the four of them. "I'm not going to do 'girl talk' with you guys. I didn't even do it when we were friends! Doing it now is just weird…"

"We can still be…friends." Kaylie said, though it sounded like she did so with difficulty.

Payson raised an eyebrow at her three former teammates. "Are you guys serious? I thought that was the last thing any of you cared about. We just a horrible fight yesterday, remember?"

"Yeah, but we burned our resentments too." Kaylie retorted.

"As much as I hate to say it…" added Lauren. "there was some truth to what Sasha said yesterday. We have to pull it together and put the past behind us. We can't ice him out forever."

"So…all of us are magically cool now?" Payson asked in confusion.

Emily smiled, knowing very well how crazy it all sounded. "The three of us got together last night and decided to call a truce with Sasha. We tried to find you, but you were out. I guess you were…busy" Emily said her last sentence with a funny smile. Kaylie and Lauren exchanged glances.

Payson Keeler was torn – should she laugh or scream?

"Let me get this straight." Payson said, making eye contact with each of them pointedly. "You've been bitching and fighting _all week_ – mostly to Sasha – and then yesterday after some homemade therapy you're suddenly willing to give him another chance? Now, after _all that_…you've decided to be nice to him…_today_….after _last night_...?"

"Yes." Lauren Tanner said plainly. "That just about sums it up."

"We agreed to start fresh." Emily explained. "It should make the week easier for everyone. Isn't this what you wanted?"

Payson Keeler went pale.

"Uh…Payson?" Kaylie asked, waving her hand in front of the blond's blank expression. "You in there? What's on your mind?"

"Nothing…" Payson said in a trance. "I'm just marveling at the ironic timing of my life." Just when Payson was ready to distance herself as much as possible from Sasha Belov, her peers were ready to play nice. _Of course._

"Speaking of Sasha has anyone seen him?" Emily asked, looking around. 'Ben mentioned something about interviewing him once he got in."

"He must be running late." Kaylie observed. "Payson, do you know where he is?"

"Nope." she croaked. "No idea whatsoever."

"Well…" sighed Lauren, finally getting up from her seat. "We'll leave you alone now to get ready – but you need to fill us in on this mysterious man you were with last night! We won't forget. You owe us details, Payson."

Payson let our an unattractive, nervous laugh as she watched them leave.

Clearly, the world had turned upside-down. If it wasn't surreal enough waking up next to her old coach that morning, now her feuding teammates were suddenly acting mature and civil. She had no idea what to make of this. She only hoped that she would wake up from this terrible, terrible nightmare as soon as humanly possible.

"Excuse me?" Payson asked the woman doing her hair. "Could you do me a favor please?"

"Yes?"

"Could you pinch me…_hard_?"

Payson felt a sharp pain on her upper arm and whimpered.

"You OK?" the SNP staffer asked.

Payson nodded politely, but inside she was screaming.

Apparently, it was all real. _Excellent._


	10. The Girl Who Launched 1,000 Websites

**Chapter 10: The Girl who Launched a Thousand Websites**

Payson was trying her best not to think about Sasha.

She _tried_ not to think about Sasha when he rushed into the SNP studio - shirt untucked and hair disheveled. She _tried_ not to think about him when a make-up artist led him to the chair next to her own. Payson _did her best_ not to look at him as they sat there in awkward silence, but instead pretended to be engrossed in an article she was reading from a parenting magazine (the only thing she could find). She also _tried_ not to think about Sasha as one of the staffers led her to a changing room, grimaced at the hickey on her neck and handed her a pink sleeveless turtleneck to wear for the day.

Payson Keeler and Sasha Belov were playing an unspoken, somewhat ridiculous game of chicken, each using their impressive Olympic determination to fake calm and confidence. In reality, both were on edge. Despite the fact that Payson knew the most about the previous night's events and had more reason to panic, she was clearly winning this game. Somehow (perhaps since she was younger and her competitive spirit was fresh) Payson was managing to hide her discomfort and carry on with the routines of the morning. Sasha was trying, but often slipped and allowed his eyes to shift in Payson's direction.

The truth was, Sasha's confused thoughts were driving him crazy. Yes, he'd left Payson's hotel the morning ready to put the whole awkward incident behind him, but for some reason his mind just wouldn't let it go. He had no idea why this was haunting him so. After all, it's not like anything happened, right?

_Right?_

"Um, is something wrong with Sasha?" Kaylie asked skeptically. Her former coach had just uncharacteristically tripped over his own feet as Payson Keeler came out of the dressing room her in pink shirt and navy pencil skirt. "He seems...not himself."

Emily Kmetko shrugged and sipped her coffee. "Who knows? Maybe he's just tired."

"Hopefully he wakes up before the interviews start." Lauren commented, joining their conversation. "Ben has a spring in his step today. Who knows what that man has planned for us..."

It was true. Ben Pierce did have an unmistakable spring in his step. He was making the rounds, ensuring that everything was in order. Frankly, his good mood was making the Rock girls suspicious.

"Ready, ladies?" he asked them happily.

"Sure thing, Ben!" Lauren said, sarcastically matching his good mood. Ben didn't notice her subtle jab. "_Where do you want us?"_

"Just on the couches over there." he said, pointing to the interview set. "Where are Payson and Sasha?"

_"Here!"_

The two scurried up to the group at the same time. Sasha was fresh from wardrobe and Payson was balancing a newly acquired (and much needed) cup of coffee.

Ben smiled. "Excellent_. Oh, and I'll take that..."_

Ben took the coffee from Payson's hand and gestured for her to sit down in front of the camera. The poor girl whimpered as she watched the caffeine leave her grasp.

The group took their seats with decidedly less drama than the day before, though no one noticed how Payson and Sasha strategically settled at opposite ends of the interview set.

"Nice shirt, Pay." Lauren Tanner said with a smirk.

Payson blushed lightly, accidentally allowing some emotion to surface.

"Are we ready?" Ben asked enthusiastically, nodding to the cameraman on stand-by. "Today should be fun. We're going to focus on your post Olympic years, I think."

_Great,_ thought Payson cynically. _I get to spend an entire day being reminded how everyone's life is more exciting than mind. Wonderful.  
_  
The interview was underway and the questions and answers unfolded quite predictably. The group interactions were less stiff than the day before and the questions easily transitioned into comfortable conversation. Ben focused on each girl's post Olympic journey one at a time, prompting discussions about Kaylie's coaching in Texas, Lauren's modeling career, and Emily's academics.

"What about outside of school, Emily?" Ben asked, with a twinkle in his eye. _"Anything happening there?"  
_  
Emily laughed and stared him down. "_I don't_ know what you mean. I'm pretty focused on my studies."

Kaylie, Payson and Lauren exchanged subtle glances, but didn't comment. It was practically common knowledge among the girls that Emily was still seeing Damon Young, now a huge name in the music world. Emily had always been the one to keep her personal life to herself and, though the girls had gone through phases of both loving and despising one another, one thing had always stayed constant: their respect for privacy.

Ben leaned in and pressed the issue. "There were some rumors after the Olympics that you and - "

_"Ben you're such a little gossip, aren't you?" _Lauren Tanner teased, interrupting his mission. "And I thought female gymnasts were bad!"

The group chuckled - even Sasha. Ben laughed along with them lightly for show, though internally he was resentful that his subject had been dodged so effectively.

"Let's go to Payson next." Ben said, turning towards the silent young blond to his left.

"Oh, we've already talked about my post Olympic days." Payson dismissed, hoping to jump out of the spotlight. "Remember? I'm just staying in Boulder with my family and finishing my book..."

"Yes, but there's more to be said! After all, you were America's sweetheart." Ben insisted. "Take a look over at the monitor, will you?"

Payson furrowed her brow, but did as she was told. One of the SNP staffers wheeled over a flat screen that was displaying a website on it - a website that she hadn't seen in years. Payson took one look at it and turned crimson with embarrassment.

There, on display for everyone to see, was_ MarryMePaysonKeeler(dot)com_- a popular fan site that she was made aware of a few years ago by her short-lived post Olympics publicist. She suspected it was made by teenage boys, but really there was no way to prove that. The homepage featured video links and an elaborate collage of Payson in leotards and in the few fancy dresses she'd been forced to wear to events. It also showed some prized magazine covers she did after winning her gold medal including one from Seventeen Magazine. The image enlarged, showing a crisp, striking picture of Payson posing demurely for the camera – red lips, pink cheeks, blond hair swept up, and a low-cut dark blue slip dress that made her eyes pop. Underneath it was the bold, very classy caption: _"I want to be Payson's leo."_

"_Oh God..."_ she mumbled.

"Do you know what this website is?" Ben asked.

Payson gulped. "Uh...yes."

The other Rock girls giggled. Payson wanted to smack them, but refrained.

Ben tried to hide his smile. "Payson, are you aware how many sites like this appeared after the Olympics?"

"Um...no."

This was a partial lie. During that short period of fame her representatives made it very clear that she had "sex appeal." In fact, she was surprised to discover that she had captured more attention from the male public than her other teammates. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that, in her time off, puberty had done more work on her. It was a mortifying truth, but it was a truth nonetheless.

Ben laughed at Payson's modest response. "_Really?_ Never before has any gymnast gotten this kind of viral attention. You really didn't know that you were 'The Girl who Launched a Thousand Websites?'"

Lauren Tanner and Emily Kmetko burst out laughing after this phrase and grabbed each other for support. Payson raised her eyebrows at the amused pair. She was glad that those two were finally getting along...though she resented the fact that it was at her expense.

"I, uh..." Payson attempted to answer the question while ignoring her teammates' reactions. "I guess I was focused on other things. I always appreciated fans, but I never...I never got used to _that type_ of attention."

Ben turned to Sasha Belov who strangely pale. Sasha had barely spoken all day since Ben had been focusing on the girls one by one. Until that moment Sasha had simply sat there and looked nice for the camera. Now he was staring numbly at the pictures before him with a sinking suspicion that Ben had strategically waited until this very moment to squeeze a reaction out of him.

"What do you think about all of this, Sasha?"

Sasha's eyes were like hockey pucks. He was probably the only one in the room who had no idea that sites like that existed. In fact, the possibility of their existence had never even crossed Sasha's innocent mind. Sure, he assumed that his gymnasts had fans, but he'd always pictured them to be enthusiastic little girls with teddy bears and glitter signs. Somehow he doubted that same demographic had made _MarryMePaysonKeeler(dot)com_.

_"Sasha?"_ Ben repeated with amusement. Payson's old coach still hadn't answered the question.

Sasha peeled his eyes away from the screen and cleared his throat. "Right, well...I guess young men obviously have more time on their hands than they should. You think they would have better things to do than sit at home and inappropriately photoshop pictures of one of my gymnasts."

"Oh, those aren't photoshopped, Sasha." Lauren Tanner corrected with a smirk. She gestured toward a large picture of Payson in a slinky blue dress. "Trust me. I'm a model and I know when a picture's been tampered with. These are real. Payson's just very - "

"I have an idea!" Payson interrupted quickly. "Let's change the subject!"

But Ben didn't want to change the subject. Ben was very close to something and he wasn't about to let it go. With his boss's angry voicemail still ringing in his mind, Ben pressed on.

"You look flustered, Sasha." Ben observed, ignoring Payson's suggestion to stop.

Sasha squirmed under Ben's determination. "What do you mean?"

"Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"What? That people are posting tasteless things about a young woman I know online? Of course I find it worrisome!" Sasha defended. "A coach hopes that his athletes are received by the public with respect - especially Olympians!"

"What - so young men aren't allowed to like Payson?" Ben pushed. "I believe she was over eighteen in these photos."

"No, that's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying, Sasha?"

_"Why are we even talking about this?" _he shot back darkly._  
_

Kaylie Cruz bit her lip and sensed something ominous brewing in the room. She caught Lauren and Emily's eye and gave them knowing looks. Wherever this interview was going...it wasn't to a good place. That was apparent enough.

Taking the hint with gusto, Emily Kmetko started coughing frantically and pounding her chest. She did so loudly and repeatedly - enough to get the camera man to cut and a staffer to jump in the shot with a glass of water.

_"You OK, Em?"_ Lauren asked with some artificial, but believable concern.

"I think so..."

"Maybe we should take a break." Kaylie suggested. "We should go to the ladies' room."

_"Yes, let's!"_ Lauren said.

Without waiting for Ben's approval, the three Rock girls jumped up and power walked to the restroom. Ben got up too, grumbling in agitation after being interrupted. He trudged over to the coffee table and signaled for the cameraman to cut.

Of course, this left Payson and Sasha very much alone.

Sasha was looking at his shoes. Yes, that was the one safe place to look.

"Uh…Sasha?"

He raised his head, but avoided eye contact with her. For some reason – maybe it was that morning or maybe it was the pictures he just saw – Sasha Belov didn't want to confront Payson Keeler just yet.

"Yes?" he returned, gaze still uncommitted.

"Are you…are you OK?"

"Of course I'm OK!" he insisted, perhaps louder than he intended. "_I'm just your coach! _I get defensive about things like this…" He motioned wildly to the flat screen still near them. "Can you blame me? Can _anyone_ blame me?"

Sasha stormed away, leaving Payson alone and confused. So far that week Sasha had been the only one to remain composed at SNP. It seemed that his streak had just ended. Now, just as all the girls were regaining their sanity, he was losing his.

Payson sat back and crossed her arms, wondering what was running through Sasha Belov's mind. She had no idea. She was, however, very certain of one thing: Sasha Belov didn't know about last night, wasn't ready to hear about last night, and – judging by his behavior towards Payson – would _never want _to know about last night.

* * *

**a/n -** Sorry for the slow pace! Hoping to pick it up next week. Next chapter expect a bathroom scene from the three scheming Rock Rebels AND some very special guests...

Review if you can! Comments and feedback are always helpful and welcome!


	11. See Payson Lie

**Chapter 11: See Payson Lie…**

The door to the women's bathroom opened quickly then slammed shut. Three young women – one of the desperately (and quite believably) fake coughing – just filed in and locked the door securely so that no one would follow them.

_"That Ben Pierce is a scheming little rat. I just want to kick him in the –"_

"Lauren!" Kaylie interrupted, massaging her temples. "Now's not the time for violence."

Emily nodded, though she somewhat understood Lauren's frustration. The three had just witnessed SNP host Ben Pierce rudely interrogate their old coach on camera.

"What's his angle anyway?" the taller brunette asked, leaning against one the sinks in defeat. "This TV special was supposed to be a warm and fuzzy reunion about us. Why has Ben been grilling Sasha all day? It doesn't make sense…"

Kaylie sighed. It looked like she was holding something back.

"What?" Lauren pressed, seeing the look in Kaylie's eye. "What _aren't_ you saying?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kaylie asked them. "Ben's probably trying to find out why Sasha left the Rock."

"What?" Emily asked. "That's so random. Why would Ben do that?"

Kaylie shrugged. "He's a journalist. He's just looking for a story I guess. Why else would he invite Sasha and not any of our other coaches? He suspects something happened before Worlds…"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "A "journalist"? _Please…_The man's on Sports Network Plus. He's not Brian Williams."

"Kaylie might have a point, though…" admitted Emily as the truth sunk in. "Scandal is good television and it's well known in the gymnastics community that Sasha is clouded in mystery."

Lauren snickered at Emily's choice of words.

_"Oh whatever, Lauren."_ She grumbled. "You know what I mean…"

"So what are we going to do, then?" Kaylie asked the group. "Emily can't fake a coughing spasm each time Ben pulls a fast one on Sasha – "

"Although that was pretty well done, I must say." Lauren commented.

Emily smiled at the unexpected compliment. _"Thanks, Lauren..._"

"We have two more days of filming left." Kaylie said, some old team captain authority coming out in her tone. "We just have to stick together until then and make sure no one slips up and caves under Ben's pressure. We'll keep running interference…you know, diluting the attention away from Sasha."

"Good thinking." Agreed Emily, nodding at Kaylie's plan.

'Wait, wait, wait a second…." Lauren said, looking at the other two suspiciously. "We just started playing nicely with Sasha again and all of a sudden you are ready to take a bullet for him? _Really?_"

Kaylie and Emily exchanged uncomfortable looks. Neither responded to Lauren's observation.

A funny smile crept on to Lauren's face and the true reality of the situation dawned on her. _"Oh…I get it._"

"What?" Kaylie asked defensively.

"You two are looking out for yourselves just as much as you're looking out for Sasha!" Lauren pointed out, crossing her arms with superiority. "If Ben cracked Sasha or did more digging about his departure from the Rock, he'd find out about your arrest" she nodded to a blushing Emily "and your anorexia." She nodded towards Kaylie with an upturned eyebrow.

"This isn't just about us!" Emily insisted. "We can't have Ben find out about Payson kissing Sasha either! That would be a disaster. Sasha, Payson, Kaylie and I all have something on the line here. You might not have anything to hide, Lauren, but you could at least support the rest of us."

Lauren Tanner's body language melted. Her crossed arms fell to her sides and her stern, superior expression dissolved. Emily Kmetko was looking at her in the eye, pleading for her silence and cooperation. The ironic part of the whole thing, however, was that Lauren _did have something to hide_. For years now the young woman had tried to forget that she sent the picture of Payson kissing Sasha to the NGO in the first place. She'd pushed it away in the back of her mind and allowed it to rot there between a place of denial and self-loathing. Oh, if only Emily and Kaylie knew just how much Lauren hated herself for that thoughtless, spiteful act…even after all these years.

"Fine. I'll help." Lauren said.

The two other Rock Rebels gawked at her. Had Lauren just agreed to their plan without any sort of fight or resistance? _Did that really just happen? Was it possible?_

'What?" Lauren asked, examining their shocked expressions. "Don't act so surprised. I'll take one for the team every once and a while. Besides, if you guys won't let me kick Ben Pierce in the balls, I might as well ruin his little TV show."

Kaylie and Emily dropped the subject, just grateful that Lauren Tanner was working _with them_ and not against them. That girl was a formidable opponent – someone you would obviously not want as an enemy. As they walked out of the bathroom and back on to the set united under their new plan, Emily found herself almost feeling bad for Ben Pierce. After all, the man had no idea just how much harder they were going to make his life.

For the rest of the day Ben tried and failed numerous times to crack Sasha Belov in interviews, but it seemed like every time he came close to getting him truly angry or finding out how the coach left in the first place, one of his former gymnasts interrupted or changed the subject entirely. The girls were playing their parts very well. The evidence of their effective teamwork could be seen on the frustration now etched on Ben Pierce's face.

Kaylie, however, noticed one more face that day. Between Ben's failed attempts and Sasha's stubborn one-word answers, her gaze occasionally shifted toward Payson. Her old teammate spent the rest of the day sitting silently in her chair, staring at her feet. Payson was usually the quiet type anyway, but there was something else in her body language and expression that caught Kaylie's eye. For a good portion of her life, Kaylie had spent most of her daylight hours in a gym with this stoic, focused girl. It didn't take rocket science for her to see the obvious.

Payson Keeler had a secret.

* * *

It was the end of the day and Payson couldn't get away from the studio fast enough. Once they were dismissed, she bolted from the interview set, ran to wardrobe and changed with amazing speed. She would've made it out the door if Kaylie Cruz hadn't grabbed her arm and forced her to stop.

"Hold up, Pay." Kaylie said.

Payson paused under the petite brunette's intense stare. She didn't like that look. It was rather intimidating – as if Kaylie could see right through her.

"W-What?" Payson asked, keeping one eye on the exit.

"Is everything OK?"

Payson hesitated, almost confused by the direct question.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Payson lied, cracking a smile.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the guy you were with last night, would it?"

Payson's eyes widened. "No! Nothing to do with him…"

"OK…" Kaylie said, though she didn't believe her. "You know, if something really was wrong, you could tell me, Payson."

_"Really?_" Payson wanted to challenge. Of all of her old teammates, Payson felt the most insecure about her relationship with Kaylie. She and Kaylie had always had an unspoken, complicated dynamic. Neither was the confrontational type (Lauren had that role down), but they had always been in an unacknowledged, yet intense competition during their days at the Rock. For the most part, they were both the all-around strengths. For the most part, they had both been the leaders. Thanks to the resentment game form earlier in the week, Payson was well aware of Kaylie's jealousy and Kaylie was well aware of Payson's feelings towards her eating disorder cover-up. Now, Kaylie was standing in front of Payson with concern and sincerity. It was surreal to say the least.

"I appreciate that." Payson finally replied. "But, I really should be going…"

"Wait!" Kaylie called out, running after her again. She took off the fashionable blue summer scarf draped around her neck and handed it to Payson.

"Uh – thanks." Payson said, holding it with confusion. "What's this for?"

"Well, I thought since you changed out of your pink turtleneck, you might want to….you know…" Kaylie gestured to Payson's neck subtly.

Payson blushed deeply, remembering the hickey she was sporting. "Oh geeze…I totally forgot. Thanks, Kaylie."

Payson gave a half-hearted smile to her old teammate and continued towards the door. She was too distracted to ponder the motive behind Kaylie's unexpected gesture. Her mind was preoccupied with her next task at hand. You see, Payson had to run an errand before returning to the hotel…and it just couldn't wait.

* * *

"Hi. I called in for a prescription a few hours ago. The name is Keeler – Payson Keeler."

The pharmacist gave her a friendly smile and typed her name into the computer.

"Ah yes!" the man said kindly. "I see it right here. Let me get that for you."

"Great." Payson said, sighing with relief.

She was waiting under harsh florescent lighting – the kind she always noticed in drug stores like these. Payson felt it beat down on her, almost like a spotlight. Luckily, the pharmacy was fairly empty so Payson didn't feel too insecure. She had been both dreading and anxiously awaiting this very moment for most for the afternoon.

"Here you go, miss." the pharmacist returned with a small white paper bag. Payson took it gratefully. "Make sure to take that –"

"Right away. I know." Payson finished for him.

"Oh, so you've taken emergency contraception before?"

'What? No! Of course not!" Payson blushed when she realized how defensive she sounded. "I mean, I just – I just assumed. I've never needed to-"

"My apologizes." The man said, raising his hand politely. "I didn't mean to pry. I just wanted to know if you had questions. That's what I'm here for."

Payson nodded and thanked him again. She walked away from the counter, fighting the sudden urge she had to curl up into a ball and die of embarrassment.

_"Payson?"_

She halted in the middle of the store and closed her eyes. _Had she just heard that?_ Had she really just heard a male, British voice call out her name? Was it really possible that – of all the people in the entire world – Sasha Belov would be at that very pharmacy? Could life really be that cruel?

Apparently…_yes_.

Payson turned and saw the ironic evidence before her. Sasha was walking towards her with a small bag. Out of instinct, Payson partially hid her own behind her back.

"Hi Sasha." She said, her nervousness too overwhelming to hide.

Truth be told, Sasha looked just as terrified. He was gripping a tube of toothpaste – perhaps harder than he should've been. Payson looked down at his hand, wondering curiously whether the tube might explode from the pressure.

Sasha followed her gaze and laughed. He lifted up the product for her to see. "I always forget toothpaste when I travel…"

"Ah…" Payson said, nodding politely. "For me, it's always socks."

He chuckled. "At least I can pick mine up at any drug store. What's that you've got there?" He gestured to the small bag she was holding.

"Allergy medicine." Payson lied quickly.

"Really?" Sasha asked. "I didn't notice you had allergies."

"Well, that's because the medicine works really well!" Payson said, tapping the bag and giving a lame thumbs-up.

_Wait – did I really just do that?_ She thought with mortification. Her mother was right. She really was a horrible liar.

Luckily Sasha didn't notice. He looked down at his feet then back up at Payson.

"Look," he started with difficulty. "I want to apologize for snapping at you this morning in the studio. Ben was acting strangely and I didn't know what he wanted. I think I just took my frustration out on you…"

Payson held up her hand and stopped him. "Seriously, Sasha, I understand."

"No," he interrupted with determination. "I shouldn't allow things like that to impact the way I treat you. All the misunderstandings from last night…and then those questions about your website…I think I just got nervous and –"

_"Sasha, stop!"_

Payson's voice was unexpectedly harsh. A few people paused from their shopping and looked over at them. She blushed lightly and lowered her voice to a normal level.

"Look," she said, locking their blue eyes together. "We've both been acting strange today, but the fact of the matter is we didn't do anything wrong last night. What I don't get is that you're acting guilty anyways and it's clearly driving you crazy. Sasha, just let it go."

Sasha exhaled, both out of relief and admiration for Payson's mature frankness. How is it that he – almost a decade older than her – couldn't communicate that effectively?

"You're right." He nodded, finally smiling. "I can't believe I reacted so –"

"And stop apologizing while you're at it." Payson interrupted yet again. "There's nothing to apologize for."

He nodded. "Right, right. I'm sorry-" He stopped mid sentence and hung his head. Payson laughed and punched him in the arm.

"You're hopeless, Belov. I can't believe _you used to coach me_…"

Sasha allowed Payson to end the conversation with the upper hand. He gestured toward to the door and opened it for her. They stepped out into the street and began walking side-by-side back to their hotel.

Payson felt proud of herself. She hadn't lied (exactly), but she did what she knew she had to do; she'd preserved the reality that Sasha needed to hear. The whole day at SNP had reminded her of their first practice at the Rock after she had impulsively kissed Sasha during training. Soon after that, he left for good. Payson wasn't about to let history repeat itself. If that meant lying, then she was going to do it. Sasha had just entered her life again and she wasn't going to let him ago. Over the last few days in New York, she'd realized just how much she missed him. If Sasha Belov was going to leave again, it wasn't going to be her fault. _Payson Keeler was determined._

"Payson?" Sasha's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I think your phone is vibrating."

Sure enough Payson's phone was buzzing in her bag. She reached down into her tote and felt around for the device. By the time she got a hold of it, the ringing had ended.

"It was my mom…" she said. "Actually, I have five missed calls from my mom!"

Sasha must've picked up the worry in Payson's tone. He knew how pessimistic she could be about these things. "I'm sure she would've left a message if it was really important." he reasoned.

Payson nodded, though her curiosity was certainly awakened. She continued to stare down at her phone, even as she walked into the hotel. Sasha held the door open for her, ensuring that she wouldn't walk head first into glass.

_"Payson! Sasha!"_

Before Payson and Sasha realized what was happening, a young, blonde ball of energy pounced on them. Becca Keeler wrapped her arms around her sister and old coach happily. Payson's jaw dropped in shock.

_"Oh my gosh!"_ she cried, hugging her sister back. "What are you doing here?"

"We're surprising you – duh!" Becca said.

"We?" Sasha asked.

As if answering his question, the crowds in the hotel lobby parted and revealed Kim and Mark Keeler standing across the room. Payson's smiled widely and jogged over to her parents. Becca followed, pulling Sasha along with her.

"Thanks for the calls, mom." Payson teased and she greeted her parents. "Next time just text me or something. If anyone calls me more than five times like that I just assume that they're kidnapped or something…"

"Oh you know me!" Kim said. "I'm horrible at leaving messages…"

"Sasha!" Mark said, grabbing his daughters' old coach and shaking his hand firmly. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Mr. Keeler." He returned.

Kim, disregarding propriety, stepped forward and hugged Sasha tightly. Usually the only time Sasha hugged anyone was after a complicated gymnastics routine, but this was a nice change. Kim had been a good friend to him for several years and he missed her dearly.

She pulled away and punched in the arm (just like Payson does, he noted).

"Don't ever let that much time pass without us seeing, Sasha!" she warned in her maternal way. "It's unacceptable."

"But, hey! At least we get to make up for lost time." Becca pointed out with a charming grin. "Sasha should come to dinner with us tonight!"

"Oh no," Sashsa said. "I can't intrude on your family time…"

His polite refusal was pointless. Kim and Mark ignored his protests. Sasha had to come out with them tonight and they weren't taking no for an answer.

"You two just go upstairs to your rooms and change into something nice. Apparently your father is taking us somewhere special, but he won't say!" Kim explained, eying her husband playfully.

Mark put his hands up. "What can I say? I have a plan…"

Payson chuckled. Her family could be so overly enthusiastic sometimes, she often didn't know whether feel embarrassed or blessed. Most of the time (like now, for instance), she felt blessed.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Becca asked, pushing them toward the elevators. "I'm hungry! Hurry up!"

Payson and Sasha stepped into the elevator, both still absorbing this wonderful surprise. Just minutes before Payson had felt bogged down and overwhelmed, but now she was elated. She was so happy, her head was practically in the clouds. As the doors closed, however, Kim Keeler called out a compliment to her daughter that would unexpectedly bring Payson back to earth.

_"Oh Pay – what a cute scarf!"_

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you for your patience! Today I finally sat down and outlined the whole story. Can't wait to write the rest!**_


	12. Dinner with the Keelers

**Chapter 12: Dinner with the Keelers**

"Wow, Dad! This restaurant is swanky…"

Becca Keeler smiled and soaked in the atmosphere. Mr. Keeler had indeed taken them to an uncharacteristically fancy place. Usually the Keelers dined in, opting to save money and feast on Kim's home cooking. This time, however, Mark decided that their vacation warranted a special treat. After all, it wasn't everyday that his entire clan was in New York City.

Payson winked at her father. "I'm impressed…"

"What?" Mr. Keeler said defensively as the waiter led them to their table. "I've heard of a Zagat guide."

"You do realize that after tonight my expectations will rise." Kim warned her husband as she draped her arm through his. "If you spoil me like this now, I'll never go back to Hamburger Helper. Just letting you know…."

Becca laughed. "Sounds like Mom's planning to trade up! How does that make you feel, dad?"

Mark Keeler rolled his eyes and looked over pleadingly at the only other male in company. "_Women_…" he mumbled. "Right, Sasha?"

Sasha did his best to suppress a smile. He subtly leaned towards Payson and whispered: "I'm guessing I should stay neutral in this domestic spat?"

His breath tickled Payson's neck and ear. Her head upwards to meet his gaze.

"I think that'd be wise…" she agreed.

Mark had chosen well. The restaurant was elegant and quaint, without a trace of gimmicky tourism. The main dining room was dark and filled with sounds of tinkling glasses and polite murmurings. Most of the lighting came from the short flickering candles on the tables and the abundance of twinkle lights above their heads. Faint music drifted toward them. Sasha spotted a pianist in the corner of the room and some couples on a small dance floor near by.

Soon after they sat down Payson excused herself to go to the restroom. Though the group was unaware, she still needed to take her "allergy medicine" and make sure that the "bruise" on her neck was still successfully covered by her makeup. She hoped that no one suspected anything.

Sasha certainly didn't. He was too preoccupied. Being with the Keelers was like watching television; the characters, familial normalcy, and quirky exchanges of the group happily distracted him.

The Keelers had always fascinated Sasha Belov. They weren't your typical Rock family. According to most peoples' standards, they were exceptionally ordinary (in the best sense, of course). Unfortunately, Sasha rarely had the opportunity to spend time with all four of them at once. During Sasha's coaching at the Rock, Mark was almost always out of town and social butterfly Becca always seemed to be hopping from one place to the next. Tonight would be an exception. Not only would Sasha get to have a lovely dinner in New York, but would also have the opportunity to reacquaint himself with this special family. In fact, the more he watched them, the more he liked them.

Kim was the clear leader. In her gentle, maternal way Kim steered the conversation naturally throughout the evening. Every one of her gestures silently revealed her skill as a caregiver – from the way she lovingly adjusted her husband's tie to the upturned eyebrow she shot at Becca when her daughter accidently cursed. This was definitely the Kim Keeler that Sasha remembered from his days at the Rock.

Mark Keeler sat on his wife's right side at the dinner table. He emitted a quiet confidence that reminded Sasha of Payson. Mark talked less than his wife, but was just as expressive. In fact, most of Mr. Keeler's communication was nonverbal. Sasha watched Mark exchange laughs and meaningful glances with his daughters from across the table. While Sasha didn't always know what they meant, Becca and Payson certainly seemed to. Their father's presence in the group was gentle, but essential. It made Sasha wonder how the Keelers ever lived without him for all those years…Sasha squirmed guiltily in his seat when the thought crossed his mind. Sometimes he forgot about all the sacrifices that gymnasts like Payson had to make to train on the elite level.

Becca was the charismatic Keeler. She liked to tease her more serious sister and press her parents' buttons in a silly, youthful way. Becca Keeler had always stood out to Sasha during his years at the Rock because she had been so fun loving and laid back (personality traits not often seen in full time athletes). Her bubbly optimism was infectious and certainly lightened the dynamic in the room.

"I ordered you a Cosmo, Pay. " Becca said to Payson when she returned from the bathroom. Sasha stood up politely and pushed in Payson's chair for her.

Payson laughed. "Since when are you twenty-one, Becca?"

"Psh - age is just a number." Becca jokingly dismissed. "Right Sasha?"

"Uh-"

"I'm the one that ordered it for you." Kim interrupted with an explanation. "I let Becca pick the cocktail."

"Oh, I see." said Payson.

"And Payson's going to give me a sip!" Becca announced.

"Yeah right…" Mark said, giving his youngest daughter a warning look. "Just because we're visiting New York, it doesn't mean I've stopped being a Midwestern Dad."

Becca shrugged, clearly not phased by the gentle discipline. Payson looked over at her sister with an expression that clearly said, "_Smooth, Becca. Nice try._" It was then that some of the lights caught the gleam in Payson's golden hair. Hypnotized, Sasha watched Payson watch her family. The smile on her face was sincere and almost angelic. As if suffering from temporary memory loss, all previous anxieties and awkward memories form the past few days were shoved to the back of Sasha's mind. Right now - with this family - he was simply enjoying the present.

Suddenly Sasha realized something. While Payson's old teammates and the media in general were so confused about her modest post-Olympic choice to stay in Boulder and live a quiet life, he now understood why she did what she did. If Sasha had a family like Payson's he would've also made them his first priority. Between Payson's constant training and her family's constant relocations during her teen years, Payson probably never had the opportunity to fully enjoy them until now.

"Sasha, you're being awfully quiet." Mrs. Keeler observed. Four heads turned towards him.

"Am I?" he said, feeling sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"Sasha's only vocal when he's bossing gymnasts around." Becca said.

"Becca!" Kim cried, looking at Sasha with embarrassment. "That's no way to talk to your old –"

"It's OK, Kim." Sasha said with amusement. "I'm not her coach anymore. Becca is more than welcome to crack a joke. Trust me."

"Ha!" the younger daughter said in triumph.

"I hope _all_ your other old gymnasts haven't been giving you a hard time." Mark said with sympathy. "Payson told us a bit about the arguing earlier in the week."

"They eventually came around." Payson explained to her father. She caught Sasha's eye form across the table and smiled reassuringly. "The Rock Rebels couldn't stay mad at him for long."

"Well, Payson's been a good friend all week." Sasha added. Though he words were directed at Kim and Mark, Sasha's gaze was still locked with Payson's. "I wouldn't have survived filming without her."

"Good." Mrs. Keeler nodded. "I specifically told Payson to be nice to you!"

Payson sighed and her cheeks flushed pink. "_I can be nice…"_

"_Is Ben Pierce nice_?" Becca asked sneakily. "Is he as cute in person as he is on TV?" Sasha sensed some secretive, female code underlying Becca's tone. He was curious and turned to Payson to see her reaction to the question.

"Ben Pierce is about as oily as his slicked back hair." Payson said pointedly.

"Ouch." Becca winced. "Someone has high standards."

"Not _high_ standards." she corrected. "Just standards..."

"Sasha, did you ever officially lift the no dating rule for Payson after you left the Rock?" Becca leaned toward him with mock curiosity. "Because maybe that's what's been confusing her all these years…"

_"Har har."_ Payson fake laughed. Sasha laughed too, but his was real.

"Becca, stop teasing your poor sister." Mr. Keeler said.

"It's OK, Dad." Payson said, returning Becca's playful smirk with seasoned confidence. "I'm a big girl now. _I can take a bit of teasing…_"

The meal went by at a leisurely pace and Sasha was grateful for it. It gave him more time to enjoy the Keelers' entertaining banter and the delicious food. In fact, he noticed that the Keelers were _sharers_. Becca and Kim especially enjoyed picking off other plates. Payson pretended to be offended when Becca stole a piece of her chicken marsala, but she just ended up laughing and dishing out bites to everyone around the table – even Sasha.

"Does this mean I have to give you a bite of my steak?" Sasha asked her sadly.

"_Only if you want avoid the guilt trip of your life…"_

He did as he was told.

At one point during dinner Payson's parents got up to dance. Mark and Kim swayed back and forth to the piano music happily. The remaining three watched from the table. Becca shook her head.

"_Oh mom and dad…_" she sighed. "They are cute and slightly embarrassing."

There was no disputing that. Right after Becca made her comment, Mark attempted to dip their mother, but clearly didn't have enough skill or confidence to execute the move properly.

Becca turned to her sister. "Well, Payson, are you going to show us your stuff or not?"

Payson gulped her drink, trying not to spit it out due to laughter. "_What stuff?_"

"Oh come on!" Becca said. "You should. Sasha made you take all those dance classes!"

"_Ballet_." Payson corrected. "Those were ballet classes. I'm not sure those skills are relevant, Becca. Besides, who would I dance with?"

"Me."

The response left Sasha's mouth before he even registered it.

Payson looked at him with hesitation, clearly wondering whether his offering was sincere. "You…_dancing_?" Payson asked, her tone dripping with skepticism.

"What?" Sasha asked, pretending to be offended by her lack of faith. "I'm an excellent dancer!"

"No offense, Sasha, but I remember that ballet class we took together as well as the imaginary hippo you were _apparently_ spooning." Payson's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Wait- what?" Becca said, looking back and forth between her old coach and sister. She leaned forward on her elbows and massaged her temples, wondering whether she could make sense of the described image and logically place it in context.

"_So I'm not classically trained."_ Sasha admitted. "It doesn't mean I'll step on your feet, Payson."

Payson chuckled and took the last sip of her cocktail. By the time she placed it back on the table, Sasha's seat was empty. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Sasha's outstretched hand. He'd gotten up and was already standing by her side like a man from a Jane Austen novel.

"You didn't accept my offer." He pointed out as he hovered above her.

"Wait, so you're serious?" she asked for clarification.

Sasha sighed. "Payson Keeler, why must I always beg you to dance? I thought you'd gotten over that particular fear."

She blushed, remembering the insecure teenage phase that Sasha had witnessed.

"Just do it, Pay." Becca said, half annoyed. "You and Sasha need to distract the room from whatever mom and dad are _attempting_ to do over there…"

"Fine." Payson said, finally placing her hand in Sasha's. "But you're not allowed to take pictures, Becca."

"That sounds fair." her sister agreed.

Sasha led Payson over to the dance floor. From a distance, she thought heard the clicking of her family's camera lens. Somehow Payson wasn't surprised.

The piano music changed to a classy Sinatra tune that Payson liked, but couldn't quite place. She already felt dizzy and they hadn't even started moving yet. Sasha placed his hand gently on the delicate curve of her waist. Payson responded by placing her hand on his shoulder, but her grip was tight and nervous - as though she was about to ride a rollercoaster for the first time.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Payson whispered as Sasha pulled her towards him.

"No." he admitted honestly. "But we're two athletic, relatively coordinated adults. I think we can handle it."


	13. Fuzzy then Clear

**Chapter 13: Fuzzy...then Clear**

Across the city, far away from Sasha and the Keelers, Ben Pierce was still lurking around the SNP studio. In fact, he was balancing on a chair in one of the back rooms skillfully installing a small camera to the top corner of a wall.

This breach of privacy was undoubtedly a new low for Ben. Despite his faint moral qualms, his boss' voice kept ringing in his ear: _"Ratings, ratings, ratings!" _It inspired him to forge onward into new territories of desperation. After all, what was Ben to do? The Rock Rebels were getting along so well lately that they'd become positively boring. Also, it didn't help that they strategically changed the subject every time he tried to nail Sasha to the wall. He only had two days of filming left. He had to make them count.

And if that meant a little spying, well, then so be it.

"_What on earth are you doing?"_

A new voice had entered the room and Ben, who had assumed that he was alone in the studio, almost fell off his chair in surprise. After regaining his center of gravity, he turned and discovered an unexpected figure at the doorway.

"_Lauren Tanner_?" He was beyond confused. The blonde model was standing before him wearing five-inch heels and a sour, disapproving expression.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated her question slowly, as though talking to a three-year-old.

Ben rolled his eyes and jumped down from the chair. "I should be asking you the same question."

Lauren shrugged in that defiant, casual way of hers. "I forgot my purse here, so I thought I'd drop by and pick it up."

Ben smirked. "Bull."

Lauren paused and uncrossed her arms. It seemed that Ben Pierce was less polite when the cameras stopped rolling. She raised an eyebrow and surveyed him once more. She certainly hadn't expected him to call her out so bluntly. People rarely did.

"It's the truth." Lauren insisted, refusing to let her guard down.

"Lauren, you don't strike me as the type of girl who just leaves her Prada bag laying around, if you know what I mean." Ben stepped toward her and stood his ground. "Are you going to tell me why you're really here?"

The real answer to that question was rather complicated. Lauren's motivation for suspiciously tracking Ben probably came from a mixture of revenge and guilt. The vindictive part of her personality wanted to utterly crush Ben Pierce (and make him cry like a girl) for torturing her coach and turning the SNP documentary into some twisted scoop. The small, remorseful part of Lauren Tanner was acting out due to the guilt she'd buried long ago over the old picture of Sasha and Payson. It wasn't easy knowing that Ben Pierce was digging for something on Sasha while she was responsible for some key evidence that could be used against him.

"_Apparently,"_ Lauren started to answer his question with sass. "I'm watching you install cameras around the studio so you can SPY on us!"

Ben's eyes narrowed. "For your information, they are for security purposes."

"_Bull."_

Now it was Lauren's turn to call his bluff. Ben Pierce didn't frighten her in the slightest. No, she knew exactly what he was doing. She'd encountered countless men like him before – young, ambitious and completely absent of moral fiber…essentially her in a male form. Lauren Tanner had handled them before and she could handle them again.

"Lauren, believe what you want. It doesn't matter and frankly it doesn't concern you."

"It concerns my teammates." she countered.

"You four haven't been acting much like a team this week." Ben pointed out. "If I were you, I wouldn't stick my neck out for people who didn't care about me."

Lauren Tanner's face fell just slightly, but this didn't go unnoticed by Ben. He silently relished in his mini victory. Confidence boosted, Ben walked quickly past her and down the hall.

"Pierce!" he heard Lauren yell after him.

Just to humor her, he turned around. "_What is it now, Lauren_?"

She walked slowly up to him, not breaking eye contact. Her hips swayed back and forth displaying her staple runway walk.

"I'm watching you, Ben Pierce." she warned in the most menacing tone she could muster. "And, just because I'm feeling particularly nice today, I'll pass on some advice to you."

"Oh yeah," he smirked. "what's that?"

"_Don't _underestimate me."

* * *

"Your family's amazing. You know that, right?"

Sasha spun Payson around and returned her back to their normal dancing position. She tried not to act too impressed, but it was difficult.

"I'm aware." Payson said, looking back once more at the dinner table where Becca was still taking pictures enthusiastically. Payson wisely chose to ignore her sister and focus on the man in front of her.

"And you're different when you're around them, too." Sasha continued, squeezing her hand in a friendly manner.

"Different?"

"Yeah," he insisted. "You always took yourself so seriously in the gym, but when you're around them they won't let you."

Payson leaned forward near the crook of Sasha's neck and laughed. His words were very true, but no one had ever put it that eloquently before.

Then, something strange happened. It must've been her perfume. Whatever it was, it was strong and made Sasha's head spin. The delicate, flowery scent wafted up to his nose and quickly penetrated his mind.

_Intoxicated and almost tripping into a body, he took in a delicious smell – one that was immediately followed with a soft, pillow touch…_

"Sasha?"

Payson was looking up at him strangely now. He shook his head as if to clear it…something didn't feel right.

"Are you alright?" she asked with genuine concern.

Sasha laughed it off. "Yeah, I'm not sure what came over me. I think I just have a headache."

"Do you want to sit down?" she offered.

"No!" Sasha said. "I haven't proven you wrong yet. We have to keep dancing."

Payson smiled to herself. Really, Sasha had lived up to his dancing skills about two songs before, but she kept that to herself. It was more fun to egg him on.

Kim and Mark Keeler danced over near their daughter and Sasha. It almost looked like Kim was leading her less skilled husband, but neither Payson nor Sasha said anything about this.

"Mark, it looks like Sasha and Payson are trying to show us up…" Mrs. Keeler said, shaking her head as if ashamed.

"They can try…" Mark Keeler said with a competitive air.

"No offense, Kim." Sasha said, grinning. "But we all saw that dip you two did earlier-"

"Yeah, if you could even call it a dip!" Payson inserted.

"- so we're fairly confident with our own abilities." Sasha finished with superiority.

Mark shook his head. "These Olympians…_they have no respect for their elders_."

Payson leaned forward and quickly whispered to Sasha, "Dip me."

"What?" he asked, slightly disoriented by that familiar smell once more.

"Dip me." She repeated with playful stubbornness.

Sasha did as he was told, using one arm to spin Payson away from him and then the other to guide her body to gently fall parallel to the floor on his other side. It happened so quickly that Payson was hardly prepared, but it didn't matter. When dancing, she knew that most of the success came from the male lead…and Sasha was much more skilled than his old ballet lessons had indicated.

He returned Payson to a standing position. She caught her breath and grabbed hold to his shoulders to recover from the dizziness of the quick move. Her chin was pressed to his shoulder and Sasha could feel the rhythm of her chest as it rose and fell against him_. It was a familiar rhythm._

Sasha's mind began to grow fuzzy again, but the Keelers quickly brought him back to the present. From across the room Becca had set down the camera to applaud her sister and old coach. It seemed that Payson and Sasha had attracted some attention from the general public too. Payson blushed furiously and quickly walked back to the table.

"You guys are a riot…" Becca said, holding up the camera. "I got some excellent pictures!"

"Oh, great!" Kim joined them at the table and beamed at her youngest daughter's handiwork. "Good going, Becca."

"Becca," Payson said disapprovingly. "You said you weren't going to take pictures…"

"No…" she corrected. "You asked me not to take pictures and I said that "sounded fair." I didn't say I wouldn't…"

"_Oh brother_…" Payson sighed, sitting down in defeat.

Mark grabbed the bill when it came, though Sasha made a lunge for it too. He wanted to treat the family to dinner, but Mr. Keeler seemed determined. Sasha eventually backed down and allowed Mr. Keeler to take the Alpha male position. Sasha just thanked him and caught Payson's eye. Judging by the pleased look on Payson's face, she approved of his humility.

"So…shall we head back to the hotel?" Kim asked.

"Yes, let's!" Becca said, hopping up from her seat and leading the way.

When they all got outside, Payson stepped on to the curve and quickly hailed a cab with a sharp whistle. Sasha raised his eyebrows, his mouth slightly open. Payson turned to him and drank in his amused expression smugly.

"What?" she asked. _"You think you taught me everything I know, don't you?'_

Sasha smiled. There was a new blunt cheekiness to adult Payson that he admired. He had seen glimpses of it when she was a teenager, but he had always been an authority figure to her first and foremost. Payson would've never spoken to him that way back then…at least not on purpose.

"Ok, everyone." Mark said, getting into the front seat. "Pile in."

Kim and Becca slid into the back first. Payson was about to get in too, but noticed that Sasha was rooted firmly on the sidewalk.

"You coming?" she asked.

"Uh…" Sasha looked into the small back seat. "I think I'll just walk."

"Don't be silly," Mark said through the open window. "The hotel is too far away. Plus, it looks like it might rain."

Sasha paused, but Payson caught his stare and gestured for him to go in. If there was one thing Sasha learned that night – between the dinner invitation and the check – the Keelers could not be swayed. He stepped inside the back seat and dropped all protests.

"Payson, just sit on Sasha's lap." Kim Keeler commanded with a casual tone that almost startled Sasha.

Showing no signs of awkwardness or hesitation, Pasyon scooted inside and shut the door. She was now balancing on Sasha's thigh, her body slightly hunched over so as not to bump her head against the ceiling.

The cab driver looked agitated by this arrangement, but his mood rose when Mark assured him that he would be getting a large tip. He started the car without complaint and shot quickly into a gap in traffic. Payson jerked with the sudden movement and, out of protective instinct, Sasha grabbed her waist firmly with both hands to steady her.

"Thanks." She said softly, avoiding direct eye contact. For a second Sasha suspected she might be as uncomfortable with this arrangement as he was, despite her supposed nonchalance.

No, uncomfortable wasn't the right word for it. What was he feeling?

Sasha's thoughts were interrupted yet again when Payson's long curtain of blonde hair made contact with his cheek. This unexpectedly sent a shock through his system. His skin seemed to burn at the light touch.

_He heard rubber snap and a small pain hit his fingers as he broke the band and set the curtain of long, wavy hair free. Then it was everywhere – in his hands, cascading down her back, tickling his chin._

For some reason Sasha had to remind himself that his body was in the back of a moving car, though his mind was telling him otherwise. Payson turned her head ever so slightly to face him. Since her body was propped up, her pink lips were at his eye level. He stared at them for a second, remembering how they tasted faintly of strawberry.

Wait – but he didn't know what Payson's lips tasted like.

_Did he?_

"We're here!"

Becca made this announcement and the cab came to a sudden stop. Sasha was jerked from his fuzzy, confusing recollection and noticed that his hands were still gripping Payson's waist.

"Sasha," she smirked. "Can I get out now?"

He quickly let go and she slid out of the car. He followed sheepishly, still feeling dazed by the inexplicable reactions he was having. As if sleepwalking, he silently followed the Keelers into the hotel lobby.

"Payson, can bunk with you in your suite tonight?" Becca asked. "Not that I don't want to stay with you two…" she quickly added to her parents.

Payson smiled. "Sure, Becca."

"Sweet! I've never gotten to stay in a fancy room before!" she said.

"Well, you two be good." Mr. Keeler said. He and Kim started walking toward the elevators. "Don't keep Payson up late gabbing, Becca. She has to wake up early tomorrow."

"I won't!" Becca called after her parents. She smiled and waved goodbye to them as the elevator doors closed. Then, she immediately turned to her sister and Sasha without missing a beat. "Let's go clubbing!"

Payson burst out laughing. "You never change, do you?"

"Neither do you." She pointed out. "You've always acted eighty-years-old. Your youth is so wasted. Right, Sasha?"

Sasha blinked. He was still feeling odd and somewhat disconnected from the present.

"Oh…yeah." he agreed. "Definitely."

"Well, we're not going clubbing." Payson said with authority. "I'm tired and I have to wake up freakishly early tomorrow. Let's just hang out in the room, OK?"

"Fine…"

Becca, Sasha and Payson caught the next elevator up. Becca stood between her sister and her old coach, waiting patiently as the numbers lit up one by one.

"Do you have any gum, Pay?" Becca asked randomly turning to her sister. "My breath is still rather garlic-y."

"Yeah, I think do."

Without thinking twice, Payson handed her whole purse to her sister. Becca stuck one hand in and rummaged around blindly until she emerged with her desired foil stick.

"Sasha" Becca turned to him and held up the purse. "Want one?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Sasha opened the purse and looked down into the semi-darkness. He moved aside the miscellaneous items in his quest to find the gum…a wallet, a lipstick, a few pens. Then, his hand gripped something interesting. He wasn't sure what it was, so he pulled it out half-way.

It was a smallish plastic box with a prescription sticker on it. At first Sasha felt embarrassed, because this was clearly not the gum and she shouldn't be snooping into Payson's medication anyway.

But before he returned it – before he could retreat back into his confused, but blissful state of ignorance that he'd inhabited since early that morning – Sasha caught an unfortunate glimpse of the medication's name. His heart stopped and he let go of it quickly as though his hand had caught on fire.

The elevator dinged and opened to Payson and Becca's floor. Becca waltzed out first, waving a quick goodbye to Sasha. He couldn't muster up the focus or sense to return the simple gesture.

Payson left next, thanking him and taking her purse from him, unaware of the heavy realization he was now experiencing. Their fingers grazed every-so-slightly. The contact went unnoticed by Payson, but almost gave Sasha a heart attack. She turned to him from outside the elevator and smiled warmly.

"See you tomorrow." she said kindly, her voice calm and well-adjusted – the polar opposite adjectives that embodied the shocked Sasha Belov.

When the doors finally closed, Sasha had to grab the wall to prevent himself from falling over.


	14. Some Truth, Some Shame, a Kiss

**Chapter 14: Some Truth, Some Shame, a Kiss**

The next morning, Payson Keeler woke up with a lovely, inexplicable sense of hope. This feeling was so strong, it inspired her to get up early and greet the beautiful sunrise. She leapt out of bed, went for a long run, read the paper, and even stopped by a local bakery to pick up some fresh blueberry scones before returning to shower at the hotel room. In fact, by the time Becca had woken up, Payson had already accomplished more than most people do in an entire day.

"What on earth are you doing, Pay?" Becca asked groggily, noticing her older sister was holding a challenging yoga position on a mat across the room.

"Cool down stretches." Payson explained with her eyes closed in calm focus.

"From what?"

"I went for a run this morning." Payson responded brightly. She straightened up and smiled at Becca who was still blinking away her sleepiness.

"And what's that smell?" Becca asked as her senses returned to her.

"Isn't it divine?" Payson gushed, hurrying forward to the bed with a large scone already neatly placed on a napkin for Becca. "I got them from this cute little place off of –"

_"Wait - what's wrong with you?_"

Becca interrupted her sister's happy speech and squinted with suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm your sister, Payson. I know you. There are only two things that inspire you to get up this early: gymnastics and royal weddings. In that order." Becca raised an eyebrow. "So…you don't do gymnastics anymore and I _know for a fact_ that Harry is still single, so fess up. Tell me what's going on."

"Nothing!" Payson laughed nervously and thrust the scone towards Becca.

"Then stop smiling!" Becca dared her.

"OK…" said Payson, though she was still beaming like an idiot. The expression was practically plastered on her face. She tried to turn away and hide it, but –

"Ha!" Becca cried as she pointed victoriously at Payson. "You can't, can you?"

Becca bit into her scone with vindication. It was obvious that Payson was burying some sort of emotion and, whatever it was, she was not ready to share it. After years of living with this focused, rather stoic Olympian, Becca knew better than to push the subject further. No, Becca just sat in bed and ate her scone in peace, silently trying to guess what was making her sister so happy.

* * *

As it turns out, Becca wasn't the only one to notice Payson's good mood that day. A few hours later at the SNP studio, Emily and Kaylie quickly picked up on Payson's uncharacteristically chipper behavior.

"Neutral look again?" Payson's make-up artist from SNP asked with boredom as she ushered the former gymnast to a chair between Kaylie Cruz and Emily Kmetko's mirrors.

Payson grinned. "You know what? I trust you. You can mix it up today. _Go for something bold_!"

The make-up artist suddenly lit up and she grabbed her bag of supplies with excitement. All week that poor SNP staffer had been rolling her eyes while Payson Keeler had insisted on simplicity and modesty._ A blond with perfect bone structure wanting minimal make-up for television? What a waste!_

"Uh...Pay?" Emily asked timidly as she watched the make-up artist hold shades of lipstick up to Payson's skin.

"Yeah?" Payson returned dreamily. At present, she was flipping through a women's magazine and smiling down at the airbrushed pictures. Neither Emily nor Kaylie could recall a time in their lives when they'd seen Payson Keeler read a women's magazine.

_"Are you feeling OK?_

"Of course!" Payson chuckled. "Why is everyone asking me that today?"

"You're just in a really good mood…" observed Kaylie diplomatically. "That's all."

Payson shrugged. "I had a nice evening yesterday." Almost against her will, Payson's smile widened. The make-up artist took this opportunity to apply pink blush to the apples of her cheeks.

"Oh I see..." Emily's tone had suddenly switched from skepticism to intrigue. She shot Kaylie a knowing look before continuing. "Aaaaand would this "lovely evening" have anything to do with a certain mysterious male from earlier this week?"

Payson tensed and placed down her magazine.

"Of course not!" she insisted. "My parents came into town yesterday with Becca. They surprised me. This has nothing to do with the opposite sex or my...my _one night thing_ from yesterday."

"I know_ that face, Payson_." said Kaylie smugly . "A woman doesn't glow like that unless-"

_"Please!"_ Payson interrupted, blushing furiously underneath her new layer of make-up. "Why is everyone suddenly so interested in my _sex life_?" She hissed the last two words under her breath as though the three of them were in a church or kindergarten classroom.

"Because it's fascinating." Kaylie answered bluntly. "And we want answers, so spill."

Luckily, at that moment, the make-up artist applied a dark coat of lipstick to Payson's mouth, thus giving her a few silent moments to compose herself in front of Kaylie and Emily. The color might've been bolder than normal for Payson (a chapstick-only type of girl), but she embraced the experimentation without complaint and proceeded smack her lips on the tissue offered to her.

"Sorry to disappoint you two," Payson said calmly. "But my evening – though lovely – was just a normal family dinner. And afterwards – not that it's any of your business - I hung out with my little sister in my hotel room. End of story."

That was a lie, of course…at least part of it. Payson indeed had spent the last part of her evening proofing the last section of her book while Becca channel surfed. Technically speaking, her evening had been average: dinner with the family, typical wind-down, and bedtime at a decent hour. Still, there had been that special ingredient to last night that Payson was not telling them about…a special ingredient that had uplifted her after an insanely confusing day, followed her into her blissful dreams, and inspired her to wake up the next morning with a silly grin that she still couldn't seem to shake.

That ingredient, otherwise known as Sasha Belov, would remain her little secret.

Still, as Payson made eye contact with Emily and Kaylie, it became apparent that her explanation hadn't quenched their thirst. So, just for good measure, Payson tacked on a sentence to her speech that she knew with scare these curious ex-teammates of hers into silence.

_"My goodness…you two are as bad as Lauren, did you know that?"_

Kaylie and Emily both shifted uncomfortably in their seats after this comparison and wisely said no more.

"Speaking of Lauren…where is she?" Payson added, suddenly realizing that they were missing their fourth Rock Rebel.

"She texted me and said she was running late." Kaylie explained. "But she said something about wanting to talk to us as soon as she got in. I don't know, that girl abbreviates so many words in her texts. I had a hard time decoding the message."

"And…Sasha's not here either?" Payson asked, keeping her voice as casual as possible as she mentioned the one name that she'd been dying to say all morning.

"I guess not." Emily shrugged, leaning toward her mirror and brushing a stray hair back in place.

Suddenly, Emily paused. In the background of her mirror she saw someone stumble into the studio.

_"Oh lord...what happened to him?"_

Payson turned around and followed her friend's line of sight to find out what who was looking at.

It was Sasha.

At first, Payson's heart leapt in her chest excitedly. Just seeing him again inspired an internal reaction.

Then, she looked closer and suddenly realized why Emily's face and tone dripped with alarm.

To put it bluntly, Sasha Belov looked like hell. He walked into the studio like a zombie - eyes unfocused, shirt untucked, and stubble more pronounced than usual. He looked around the room wildly, obviously eager to get to someone or something. His gaze finally landed on Kaylie, Emily and Payson Keeler. With a look of determination that could only be described as Olympic, Sasha strode forward toward their make-up chairs.

"He looks..." Emily stared.

"..._crazy_." Kaylie finished for her.

Payson had to agree. Almost against her will she locked eyes with Sasha and felt her stomach sink. Why did she have a horrible feeling that this was about her?

Once in front of the girls, Sasha heaved a heavy sigh and finally spoke. His voice came out hoarse and gruff.

"Payson, I need to speak with - "

_"Is everyone ready for interviews?"_

Ben Pierce's impeccable timing was a thing of wonder. He waltzed in right in the middle of Sasha's sentence. Sasha Belov looked like he wanted to kill him, but Ben did not notice this.

"It's a beautiful day for filming, isn't it?" Ben said with his anchorman smile. "Now, where's Lauren?"

"Running." Kaylie said. "She overslept, but should be here any minute."

"Good! Well, I think we should -"

"Ben, I need to speak with Payson." Sasha said. The combination of this expression and British accent increased his authority ten fold. "It can't wait."

"Of course!" Ben said pausing awkwardly to stare at him.

Sasha sighed impatiently. "_In private..."_ he clarified.

"Oh! Well, why didn't you say so?" Ben asked with a chuckle. "Feel free to duck into any of the back rooms. I'll prep Kaylie and Emily while you two talk."

Sasha nodded blindly. Without speaking he took hold of Payson's arm and led her out of her chair and down the hallway.

* * *

His grip was firm, but not painful.

Payson's heart rate climbed as Sasha led her down the hallway. She wondered if he could tell…his hand was so close to her pulse point.

"What's going on, Sasha?" Payson asked.

Her question was pointless. Sasha wouldn't speak to her until after they were far from prying eyes and ears. He quickly ducked into a backroom and shut the door behind them.

Payson stared at Sasha as he slowly turned to face her. She noted the dark circles under his eyes and the tension that was filling the room as if it was invisibly pouring out of his body and filling up all the free space between them.

"Sasha, you don't look so good. Are you - ?"

"_Why didn't you tell me Payson?"_

His words cut through her like a knife. She paused and let them sink in.

"Payson." He repeated her name with purpose – almost begging. He locked their blue eyes together in an uncomfortable confrontation that Payson knew she couldn't avoid now. All of the optimism from last night and that morning suddenly left her body and, once again, Payson felt like a sixteen-year-old who had just done something unspeakably stupid.

"How did you -?" she started, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I saw the pills in your purse last night."

Payson closed her eyes. _The elevator_…she remembered now.

"Sasha, I can explain…" she started desperately, wondering if she could formulate some magic excuse or lie to once again dodge the inevitable. "See, what you saw was-"

"I know what I saw." Sasha insisted, now sounding on the edge of insanity. "Why didn't you tell me Payson? Geeze...why did you keep this to yourself? What exactly was the logic behind that decision?"

"I-I'm sorry." She said, immediately averting her eyes to the ground. "Look, I know you're angry at me, but can we just talk about this calmly and rationally?"

Payson's voice cracked during her last sentence. _Damn it,_ she thought. _That's exactly how I want to sound right now. Vulnerable. Excellent._

Sasha's expression softened. He walked towards her briskly. For a second, it looked like he was going to take Payson's hand, but he abruptly stopped himself mid-gesture and winced. It was as if he couldn't bare to touch her.

Payson's heart sank as she noticed this and unwelcome déjà vu invaded her thoughts.

"I'm not angry at you." Sasha said slowly. "I'm angry at myself, Payson."

Her eyes shot up – alert and surprised by this answer. Out of all of the hundreds of horrible scenarios Payson Keeler had envisioned about this possible conversation, never had she anticipated this angle from Sasha. Never.

"Wait, what?" she asked. "You're angry at…_yourself_?"

"Of course I am." Sasha said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"For sleeping with me?"

That did it. The words were spoken. Sasha sharply inhaled after her blunt word choice and nodded his head.

"Payson I hate myself for what happened and I hate that you felt the need to keep it from me." Sasha said, looking down at her and interacting with her in the coach-athlete fashion he was so used to. "You know very well from our past experiences how protective I am of you girls…and the fact that I…that I…crossed a line –"

"_We_." Payson corrected, though Sasha didn't seem to notice.

"The fact that I crossed a line with you is just torturing me, Payson." He said. "I barely slept last night, I was so worried about you. I don't blame you for hating me."

"I don't hate you..."

"I know," Sasha said, looking sheepish. "Geeze, you invited me to your family dinner! We even danced and joked around…and all the while you didn't tell me that anything was wrong."

"Nothing _was _wrong." Payson said tersely. She stepped back from him and folded her arms.

Sasha was too wrapped up in his own self -loathing to notice that Payson was no longer looking vulnerable. Her eyes were no longer cast down. A surge of determination was overtaking her body. With every coach-like, self-deprecating word that Sasha uttered, her will only strengthened. Frankly, she wasn't sure how much more of this she could tolerate.

"I feel like such an idiot." Sasha continued to rant, running his hands through his hair with an unsettling expression. "I can barely look at myself in the mirror. How could I have done this to you? Was I that drunk? Did I…did I take advantage of you? Jesus! I should've never called you that night. You know, I had a bad feeling about this -" he gestured between him and Payson. " –but I didn't listen to my instincts. I make the same mistakes over and over again…."

Payson's eyes widened and something strong bubbled inside her, ready to explode.

"What kind of role model am I?" he asked in wonderment. "Payson, I don't even know how you can tolerate me right now-"

"SHUT UP, SASHA!" Payson cried, stamping her foot on the ground.

Sasha closed his mouth, wondering if Payson was finally going to express her disgust towards him and his horrific behavior. He cast his eyes down, expected the worst. Little did he know, Payson was planning something entirely different.

She stepped forward, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Screw your shame, Sasha."

And, in one connected movement, Payson Keeler stepped forward, grabbed her former coach, and brought his lips down to meet her own.

* * *

Lauren Tanner sprinted into the SNP studio with incredible speed. Lauren had originally planned to get to the studio an hour early to execute her "plan," but fate had unfortunately stepped in. Not only did her hotel wake-up call never come through, but – because of her frantic rush - her hair remained unwashed and her face was make-up free (two things normally not allowed when Lauren went out in public). Still, she didn't care. She had to get to the Rock Rebels as soon as humanly possible.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" she cried, pushing innocent assistants and PA's out of the way to get to Kaylie and Emily. They were lingering on the edge of the interview set looking bored while Ben Pierce chatted with a cameraman.

"Lauren…" Emily said, looking confused as the blond ran up panting. "Finally. We thought that you were –"

"Stop." Lauren said between breaths. Before uttering another word, she got a notepad out of her tote bag and began scribbling on a piece of paper. After a few seconds she held it up to the two girls.

**_I caught Ben bugging the place last night. There are cameras everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. Have you two said anything compromising?"_**

Kaylie and Emily shook their heads frantically.

"Good." Lauren said out loud, eyeing Ben out of the corner of her eye. "OK, so where are Payson and Sasha? I need to tell them too."

Kaylie and Emily's faces fell.

"Oh my God…" Kaylie whispered. "Sasha said they needed to speak in private somewhere."

Lauren's eyes bulged. "Where?" she mouthed.

Emily and Kaylie both frantically pointed down the back hallway.

Without waiting for further direction, Lauren Tanner began sprinting yet again.

* * *

**a/n – This is long overdue. I. Am. So. Sorry.**


	15. Reactions

**Chapter 15: Reactions**

Before Sasha could protest, Payson Keeler grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her. She pressed their lips together and backed him insistently against the wall almost knocking the wind out of him in the process. Shocked and bewildered, Sasha's just stood there with wide eyes and arms raised awkwardly at his side.

It took this kiss for Sasha to truly realize that Payson Keeler was no longer the naïve, insecure girl she used to be. Her lips moved against his with confidence. She wasn't afraid this time around – in fact, she seemed impatient. She wrapped her arms around Sasha's neck and pressed their bodies even closer together. He shuddered at this, suddenly feeling disoriented. He placed his hands on her hips, ready to gently push her away as he had dutifully done six years before.

But the thing was…_Sasha wasn't pushing her away_.

As he took in the scent of Payson's hair and the lovely taste of her mouth, Sasha became distracted by the basic fact that they'd done this all before – not only years ago in an empty gym, but just days before in a hotel room. Now his muscle memory seemed to be taking over, reacquainting his mind with the night they had both forgotten. Sasha's body began to soften beneath Payson. Out of instinct, he finally closed his eyes and responded eagerly while the flashes of memory resurfaced: the delicate curves of her body, the way her fingers raked through his hair, the familiar friction that was building up between them…

At the same moment, Sasha and Payson pulled apart from each other and refilled their lungs, chests rising and falling in rhythm. Payson's eyes fluttered open dreamily and met Sasha's. He just stood there in silence, staring down at this woman as though he was seeing her for the first time.

"That was…" Payson blushed sheepishly and attempted to formulate a complete sentence.

Suddenly, her smile dropped.

"Payson?" Sasha asked with confusion. He turned around to look at what she was staring at.

There, planted on the top corner of the ceiling, was a small black camera with a blinking red light. Sasha's eyes widened in panic and he felt numbness take over his body.

"Sasha…" Payson said, her voice now hardly above a cautious whisper. "Is that a -?"

Lauren Tanner chose that moment to unceremoniously kick the door open and enter the room with gusto.

"Payson, why haven't you been answering any of my calls and texts?" she asked as she strode into the room, her long honey-colored hair swinging behind her. "You two need to follow me or -"

Lauren paused and narrowed her eyes. She looked back and forth between the two disheveled individuals before her. Then, the truth hit her like a ton of bricks.

"_No. Way."_

Before Payson and Sasha could explain themselves, another person entered the room behind Lauren.

"Why hello, everyone." Ben Pierce said with a grin. "Having a little chat in here, uh?"

The oily SNP host stopped at the door frame, crossed his arms in delight, and winked at Payson. For a one fleeting moment, Payson optimistically thought that he might not find out about what she and Sasha had done. _Maybe,_ somehow, she could handle this situation. _Maybe_ that blinking camera was just for routine security purposes, meant only to be seen by semi-distracted building guards who could care less about her private life.

This, unfortunately, was a foolish thought.

No sooner had it crossed her mind, than Payson looked over Sasha and felt her stomach drop like an anvil.

There, smeared all over Sasha's mouth, was Payson's new shade of lipstick.

* * *

Without asking permission or pausing to take a breath, Lauren Tanner grabbed both Sasha Belov and Payson Keeler and dragged them past a very smug looking Ben Pierce. Down the hallway they went, making their way back to the main studio. As the threesome power walked past Emily and Kaylie, Lauren desperately signaled for them to follow her. The last two Rock Rebels obeyed and walked quickly towards the SNP ladies room.

"Wait – I can't go in there –" Sasha started.

"Not now, Belov!" Lauren mumbled, pushing him inside.

Once they were all safely in a camera-free zone, Lauren locked the door and turned towards her companions. She tried her best to appear calm and composed, but before she could formulate a plan of action and share it with her teammates, Kaylie and Emily had already picked up on the obvious.

"Oh my God." Kaylie said under her breath, her eyes locked on Sasha's heavily stained mouth. "_No way…"_

Sasha glanced in the mirror and yelped uncharacteristically. Feeling obligated to help him, Payson quickly grabbed a wet paper towel and handed it to him. He took it, but stubbornly avoided eye contact with her.

"Sasha…" Kaylie started. "You and Payson weren't by any chance…practicing CPR?"

Sasha glared at her, silently answering her question.

"I kissed him." Payson admitted, throwing her hands up in the air. "I confess! The whole world will know soon, so we might as well not pretend."

"Oh my God…" Kaylie said, massaging her temples. "You were caught on camera, we're you?"

"_What is it with you two and kissing in front of cameras…?_" Emily asked, almost curiously.

"Let's just calm down." Lauren said, stepping in diplomatically. "We can get through this. Everyone just needs to shake it off and think about this rationally."

"What's to think about?" Emily demanded. "Ben Pierce has been fishing around for a scandal all week and we just gave him one. Now, this is all the Rock Rebels are going to be known for…this will be our new legacy according to cable television!"

"I won't let that happen." Lauren said evenly. "I will find a way to get us out of this."

"How?"

_"I just will, OK?_" Lauren cried like a mad woman. She started pacing back and fort in front of her confused, disoriented audience. "I'll sort it out…I can fix this. There has to be a way."

Payson cringed in shame. "Really, Lauren. You don't need to do that –"

"Yes, I do! I have to make this right. _It's the least I can do _-"

"Lauren, Payson is right." Sasha said, finally speaking. "This is our mess and there is no need for you, Emily, or Kaylie to get involved. Who knows what might happen."

"Wait…" Kaylie Cruz stepped forward and raised an eyebrow at Lauren. "What do you mean…_'it's the least you can do'_?"

Glances were exchanged nervously around the bathroom, but eventually all eyes fell on Lauren Tanner.

Lauren had always known her sins would catch up with her eventually…she just had no idea it would be _now_.

"It was me." she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Payson cocked her head. "Wait, what on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm the one who sent the picture of you and Sasha kissing to the NGO six years ago."

An eerie silence filled the room.

"E-Excuse me?" Payson asked.

"Payson, I'm so sorry-"

But Lauren didn't get the chance to finish her apology. Payson Keeler, 2012 Olympic Gold medalist, had just launched herself unceremoniously on her old teammate.

"Whoa!" Sasha stepped in and held Payson back. He grabbed her around the waist with one strong arm and lifted her off Lauren Tanner who was now sporting disheveled hair and the faint beginnings of a black eye.

Despite the drama of it all, Sasha – a former boxer – couldn't help but be impressed by Payson's unexpectedly good form.

"Cool it, you two!" he cried, in his coach voice, squeezing the resistant Payson a little tighter. Even now, she was attempting to escape his grasp.

"_Holy Shit_." Emily said under her breath. She had always known that one day Lauren Tanner would get punched…she just always assumed it would be from her.

"I can't believe you!" Payson yelled at Lauren through heavy breaths. "You almost ruined my life! You DID ruin Sasha's life!"

"Payson, no one ruined my life –" Sasha stared, trying to remain the calm one in the room.

"No!" Payson continued, still glaring at Lauren Tanner. "There are no excuses for what you did, Lauren. I can't believe that you came to New York mad and me – MAD at SASHA! For what, exactly? _For being the victim of your crime?_"

"I wasn't lying during the resentment game, Payson!" Lauren said, trying to explain. "I _was _mad at Sasha for giving you all the attention before Worlds and I've _always_ been jealous of you for bouncing back so fast. I'm sorry, OK? I was a messed up kid!"

"_That's for sure_…" Emily muttered.

"I wish I could take it back, believe me!" Lauren continued. "But I can't, so please let me take care of this problem. I've been tailing Ben all week and I think I can fix this. I know I can-"

"Like we _would ever_ trust you again…" cried Kaylie. "You really did it this time, Lauren!"

"Everyone, just stop!"

Sasha's voice rang out with authority, bouncing off the tiled walls of the bathroom. All the girls paused and looked at him. He had that familiar, coach-like aura about him now.

"There's only one way to fix this." He said, his words steady and calm.

Sasha strode out of the bathroom without explanation. The girls all paused for a second of confusion, but then quickly followed him back to the room where he and Payson had just kissed. The SNP staffers all looked on curiously as, once again, their interviewees power-walked across the main studio for no apparent reason.

When they arrived at the room. Sasha grabbed a chair, stood on it, and then ripped the camera out of the ceiling.

_"Well that was pointless…"_

The girls turned around and glared at Ben Pierce who, as always, seemed to be just two steps behind them at all times.

"I still have the footage, you know." Ben said casually. "You all should read your contracts more carefully. If you did, you'd notice that SNP has the right to record documentary footage anywhere on our property-"

"I don't care!" Sasha stepped down from the chair and walked over to Ben with clenched fists. "Hand it over, Pierce."

Ben laughed. "Seriously? You think I'm just going to do what you say? My job is on the line here. I could care less about being nice to you."

"Geeze, Ben, stop being such a scum bag! Give us the recording!" Lauren cried.

"Shut up, Lauren!" Kaylie, Emily and Payson said together.

"I was just defending you from -"

"I don't need you _of all people_ to defend me!" Payson crossed her arms. "What? You think you're any better than _him_?" She pointed to Ben Pierce. "Well, you're not! _You're exactly the same!"_

Payson's words hit Lauren hard. She turned pale and looked down, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Look Ben," Sasha said. "Man to man, I need you to understand. You can…you can name your price."

"I'm not interested in money, Belov." Ben said bluntly. "I have everything I need."

"Fine." Sasha said tersely. "Then I'm leaving."

Ben laughed again. "You can't leave. You're contracted to finish this."

Sasha stepped up toward Ben and towered over him darkly.

"Sue me." Sasha dared. "_Literally_. I could care less."

And with that, Sasha Belov turned on his heel and stormed away.


End file.
